Opinion: Laugh your way to riches
Organisations that encourage a good laugh facilitate cohesion and interpersonal communication
By Dr Sumagna Bhowmick
Do you perceive humour at work as a distractor or as an enabler? In other words, does humour at work drift your focus away from work, or do the occasional laughter breaks in between help you focus more on work? One may think that work is a serious affair, and the use of humour can be perceived as unprofessional. As a result, there is often a deliberative humour inhibition at the workplace. But what if I say that the use of humour can also make you rich?
In a study by Sala (2003), it was found that executives who used humour 17.8 times more than their counterparts, were rated as outstanding executives, and it was positively related to the size of their bonuses. Bitterly & Brooks (2020) suggest that the use of humour, even if it is a flop joke, can make someone be perceived as more competent, confident and also higher in status. Probably due to cultural resistance, we do not think of humour as a great leadership skill, or as a team bonding tool that enhances creativity, improves productivity and builds trust among team members. Also, we look at humour as a personality trait, and having a good sense of humour is not a common thing. And this limits our understanding of humour.
Multi-faceted Construct
Humour is actually a multi-faceted construct. It can be the cognitive ability to crack a joke, the habit of laughing more often, and also a coping strategy to defuse stressful situations. And thus, to be able to make use of humour, it is important to reflect on its usage. For example, if it is used as a communication tool, a manager can convey negative feedback to a subordinate, which is otherwise difficult.
Also, it can be used to enhance the quality of leader-member exchange. If humour is used as a bonding tool, a manager can encourage frequent bouts of shared laughter, because a happy team will be the most effective one even in difficult situations. If humour is used as a destressing tool, a manager can use it to defuse stressful situations. This can be done not just to resolve conflicts but also to cut down on apprehensions because humour acts as an antidote to the work-stress employees are exposed to.
Romero and Cruthirds (2006) defined organisational humour as consisting of amusing communications that produce positive emotions and cognitions in an individual, group or organisation. Shportun (2016) defined it as a positive emotion, which greatly impacts psychosomatic health. Humour creates a positive affective/cognitive state which facilitates social relationships. Michael Kerr, the author of “You Can’t Be Serious! Putting Humor to Work” and “The Humor Advantage”, stated that humour is important if one wants to live a healthier and balanced life.
Leveraging Humour
But, how much of humour is good for the workplace? How can someone make use of humour the right way? How can we ensure productivity, build a cohesive team and be effective managers with the right mix of humour? To leverage humour as an interpersonal asset, it is important to devise a strategy that can help a manager make use of humour optimally. I am sharing a few insights here which are based on research findings and relevant to corporate organisations.
• Utilising self-deprecatory humour
If you fear that humour can cause offence, then it is always good to crack a joke on yourself. Self-deprecatory humour can enhance a leader’s image, and make their followers perceive them as humble and high on humility. However, too many jokes on oneself can be detrimental. Team members might not take you seriously. Hence, establishing leadership credibility is important.
• Humour appreciation
You don’t always have to stand up and say a joke. Having an appreciation for humour can also encourage laughter. For example, if you are not naturally humorous, you always identify people in your team and encourage them to use humour more often. You will still be perceived as humorous.
• Humour should be contextual
Use of humour should be contextualised. There should be a very careful calibration of the situation you are in, the team you are handling, the recipient and the kind of relationship you share. For example, one must be very conscious and mindful of a diverse audience. Team familiarity is important before cracking a joke at their expense. It should never aim to pull a person down.
• Humour should be planned
Not everyone is blessed with a quick wit. In that case, there is nothing wrong with practising or rehearsing a joke that can be told at social gatherings or team outings. The use of planned humour in such situations enhances the quality of communication and fosters interpersonal relationships.
• Humour is not straight-forward
Understanding of humour can be incongruous. Hence, one must be mindful of situations where humour has fallen flat or did not work. One should have the capacity and the ability to quickly bounce back from the damage.
Organisations that encourage a good laugh facilitate cohesion and interpersonal communication. Humour can increase job satisfaction, promote healthy leader-follower relationships, enhance organisational citizenship behaviour and also improve work performance (Gkorezis et al, 2016; Magnus et al, 2012). So, the next time you can’t decide whether generating laughter is desirable at your workplace, remember that work is all about managing people, and as the famous comedian Victor Borge said, “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”
