Humour is undeniably a great way to get along with work colleagues. When things can get tense or stressful at work, a bit of humour goes a long way to relax and refresh yourself and those around you.
However, humour is often feared in the workplace. Some are afraid to offend the people they have to work with, and since everyone reacts to humour differently, it can be a tricky element to introduce when you don’t have that established ‘banter’ within the relationship.
But the right level of humour among employers can increase creativity and productivity. Humour sparks innovation within the office as it allows people to feel more relaxed. Having fun at work is never a negative; a jovial atmosphere increases work ethic.
Discover more reasons to the importance of humour:
- Humour is more important than pay!
- Yes, it is hard to believe that some people say this – in fact surveys with over 2,500 people in a company found that 55% of workers would take less pay to have more fun at work!
- Joking around is more of a benefit than a distraction.
- If you are worried that office humour will lead to distraction, you have no need to worry! Studies show that increased humour in the workplace makes employees more concentrated as it increases their brain juices!
- Humorous advertisements are more effective.
- When it comes to marketing everyone remembers the more comedic advertisements than the average joe post. It has been shown that humorous adverts have had nearly 25% greater impact!
- Laughter provides health benefits.
- Laughter influences the cardiovascular system. Laughter can lower your heart rate, reduce your blood pressure and improve the function of your blood vessels. The expression, ‘Laughter is the best medicine,’ is indeed, incredibly accurate.
- People who use humour are known to be better leaders.
- Leaders who use humour as part of their management style are not only proven to produce greater work performance, satisfaction and cohesion amongst workers, they are perceived as better leaders and managers. Come on, who really wants a boring boss?
- Humour boosts creative thinking.
- Humour provides a more colourful environment. A playful office also helps encourage openness and diminishes the fear of criticism towards outlandish or creative ideas.
- Fun environments reduce burnout and turnover.
- Of course, humour in the workplace has proven to enhance workers coping mechanism and reduce worker withdrawal and burnout.