Finding Humor in the Workplace: Laughter Bonds People
By Jayjay Viray

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."
E. E. Cummings, American Poet

Laughter is a great thing.  It can be infectious and encouraging.  There is even a whole exercise regimen aimed at just laughing.  It brings people together when they find that they laugh at the same things.  It is a bonding experience and a way to see if you and another person will get along.

In the workplace, office or otherwise, this is a necessity.  When a person does not like the people that he or she works with or cannot get along with them, it will deteriorate the work and possibly the working atmosphere in the office.  Laughter is a tool that is useful in these situations.  More often than not, when people find themselves laughing with one another, there is a connection and spark that bring them together, creating a sense of unity between them.  This is why you like your friends, right?  They make you laugh.  Why should it not be the same for the workplace and your workmates?

Creating a fun work place is essential to productivity.  Then work does not seem like work, but it is rather something that is enjoyed by all.  It can be about anything really, an inside joke about the coffee maker, a joke about something everyone can laugh at, anything.  Even if you are not the funniest person in the office, you can join in on the fun when the office clown does their thing. 

Time and experience show us that a happy workplace is a productive one.  Since most of us spend a lot of our time in the office as aforementioned, there is something to be said about being able to be comfortable in it.  This includes the people.

There is of course, a difference between laughing with people and laughing at them.  Both are fine, but it takes a bit of maneuvering to be able to pull the latter off.  Everyone has a joke played on them every once and awhile.  Everyone has one time or another been the punch line to a joke, either intentionally or not.  But this must be done with caution and sensitivity.  There are, after all, people out there who do not share the same sense of humor as everyone else.  You must respect that and at the same time encourage them to join in through other means.  It is a very awkward and tiresome state to be the one who is “out”. 

Alternatively, if it is you who is the one that is “out”, try to make the effort to join in.  This is your workplace after all, and these are your colleagues.  It is a small but significant gesture for you to spend a couple of minutes just hanging out with them and joining in.  It encourages the camaraderie among you; since most people spend a large amount of time in the working environment, this will be a worthwhile investment.  Also, this shows that you’re game for a laugh and it is a chance for your colleagues to know you as a person, not as your job title. 

They say that what you laugh at shows what kind of person you are.  There are some jokes also that may not be acceptable or would not be in good taste to be mentioned at the office.  This of course depends on the atmosphere in your respective office or workplace.  Just because your banana joke went over well in your last job does not mean that it will receive the same laughs in your new one.  So again, use caution and sensitivity before making a joke about the supervisor in the far cubicle. 

Laughs are the best way to bring everyone together and establish a notion of camaraderie.  When this happens, the workplace will be like a well-oiled machine.  Every part will be happy working with the other and not do it drudgingly.  It will eventually happen that the camaraderie turns into friendships, as these people do become friends that you spend timewith, rather than workmates that you work with.  Again, the more comfortable you are in your working environment, the better results you will produce, and all due to one funny joke!

[Jayjay Viray is the Country Manager of JobsDB Phils, Inc. For more job opportunities, log on to www.jobsdb.com.ph.  For comments, email feedback@jobsdb.com.ph.]