Returning to Work with Laughter

I was recently listening to Bruce Daisely’s podcast, Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat with Robin Dunbar, anthropologist from Oxford University. When asked what he recommended when bringing people back into the workplace, he advised hiring a stand-up comedian and having a good laugh together for half an hour. He also advocated singing well-known songs in large groups.

What these two suggested strategies have in common is that they create ancient human connection at a neurobiological level. Prof Dunbar’s research on rowers found evidence to support what every rowing coach knows well; that when rowers are in synchrony, they can almost float across the water. Any disruption of the communal pull will create turbulence and decrease efficiency. He also discovered that rowers on their own can perform at a certain level but put them in a boat with other rowers and they can achieve more. Endurance goes up and so does the ability to tolerate pain. This is because we are designed to work together and work best pulling together in the same direction with the same goal in mind. Community singing and laughing together are simple way of bringing people together. In fact, Professor Dunbar expressed surprise in the podcast that there wasn’t more research into laughter and singing in the workplace. He regards these as free, accessible and potentially powerful tools in re-connecting people going back to face-to-face working.

The landscape of the workplace, of course, has now changed and bold organisations will be re-evaluating everything; acknowledging challenges, seeking out successes and building a more sustainable way of working. What is required is a willingness to experiment with different hybrid ways of working and a level of openness and curiosity to explore what is working and what is not.

The changes we have gone through over the last year have been harder for some more than others. People have struggled to grow and adapt to this new way of working, and some will struggle to return - whilst others have thrived. Why do some people find it easy to open themselves up to new ideas and concepts when others do not? The work of Carol Dweck on growth mindset has been seminal in changing the established view that ability is largely fixed. She challenged the idea that a person was either born with talent, intelligence or adaptability or any skill at all. Her work has shown that when children are told that they cannot get better at something, they develop a fixed mindset. This may be limiting, leading to a belief, for example, that they are no good at maths or sports. A growth mindset in contrast is an attitude that hard work and a belief that abilities can be learned and developed will result in learning and improvement. It is an open attitude which regards inevitable setbacks and challenges as learning opportunities rather than roadblocks which simply re-inforce the belief that inherent talent is all that is necessary to succeed. A growth mindset encourages perseverance and looking towards the future.

In an ideal world our work provides us with a sense of purpose, engagement and achievement. In a post-pandemic world taking the time to identify those aspects of work which energise us and those which drain us will pay dividends. No job is without its boring, draining aspects, but we can change our attitude to these parts by understanding their contribution and importance to the bigger picture. Small tweaks can make a big difference.

So, what has laughter got to do with mindset theory? Well, social laughter is a play signal (Provine, 2017) showing others that we are open, willing to have fun and to relate positively with others. It demonstrates that this is a safe space. In workplaces there has been a tendency to view levity and laughter as inappropriate. Work is a serious business. But great business is about having great people, and research suggest that those businesses which work hard at creating and nurturing strong relationships with their employees, relationships which encourage and rely on honest, fair, specific and appropriate feedback, thrive. Project Aristotle, in which Google looked at the ingredients of their most successful teams, identified psychological safety as a vital ingredient.

We know that shared laughter boosts mood, builds connections between people, buffers stress and anxiety and bolsters resilience. Prof Robin Dunbar from Oxford University suggests, a good laugh is a great welcome back to the office.

Anna

Reference

Provine, R. (2017). Laughter as an approach to vocal evolution: The bipedal theory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 24(1), 238-244. DOI:10.3758/s/13423-016-1089-03

Anna HatchardApril 26, 2021