A laugh a day can chuckle the stress away
BY DERRICK VIKIRU
Humour is the one thing that we use and enjoy instinctively in the office. Various scientific research confirm what those natural impulses tell us; ‘that humour is good for us’. I love the sound of laughter in the office, well, but not being laughed at. I can, however, occasionally tolerate being laughed at, which I believe is better than an office which never echoes to the sound of hoots, guffaws and hysterical teary laughs. Come to think of it, all my favourite workplaces have been the ones where my ribs ached from so much laughing. Occasionally, I could just lay on the floor like a beetle, legs wagging in the air, in stitches at my colleagues’ strong sense of humour… (I might have overstated that). That is the kind of good humour I am talking about.
Then there is the bad humour. Like for instance, one place I used to work with colleagues in an organisation with a profound humorous culture. Every-day, we shared stories of our aches and pains, our latest projects, and how my colleagues’ millennial children had disappointed them again that week. Normal stuff. Those guys were fun, except for one – little Turuphena (or Turu) – who constantly commandeered our conversations to say something so horrifically sad, we’d be forced to sit in silence for the rest of the day, just to process the psychological hell she’d just unleashed upon our now brittle souls. Now, that’s a humour killer. However, in all the teams I have worked, we have always managed to create this common language of silly, absurd, humour that probably makes no sense outside the office.
Humour is one of our most important forms of emotional expression. It’s a social behaviour that reveals who we really are. Psychologists Herbert Lefcourt and Rod Martin in their research proved that stressed-out people with a strong sense of humour became less depressed and anxious than those in whom it was less developed. Robert Provine, a psychologist from the University of Maryland, also found that we laugh most when talking to our friends. Rather than jokes, we share statements and comments that, on the surface, do not appear to be funny at all but are contextually funny.
Humour makes business sense
It is a workplace essential. We spend so much of our lives at the workplace, why shouldn’t we be able to express ourselves in an authentic way? Humour encourages collaboration, provides motivation and can help prevent burnout. Good humour also contributes to the success of a leader: when used effectively, it signals confidence, competence and high status. What’s more, in workplaces where humour is shared openly, the culture tends to be one that encourages people to be themselves, and the result is a productive workforce. Each healthy laugh has positive benefits. All you need to do is see the benefits and make a commitment to add laughter to your life every day. Just like Maya Angelou, I too don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.
Derrick Vikiru is the sub-editor Management Magazine. Email: dvikiru@kim.ac.ke
