Whistle While You Work
Work. A necessary evil, right? Wrong. Whatever work you do for a living, it is very likely that you will experience a benefit to your wellbeing – and not just because of the financial reward of it. Of course, all employment has its ups and downs, but work brings us a sense of purpose, meaning, engagement and interaction with others and each of these are cornerstones of good mental health. Absence from the workplace over the last year has left many feeling disconnected and isolated. Zoom calls and working from home doesn’t bring the same relationship bonding as having colleagues close by for those water cooler moments or adhoc conversations about nothing to do with work. Or laughs.
We may have all had to raise our tech game of late, but as we bounce from online meeting to online meeting our productivity may be increasing but the laughs are limited.
Laughter can be generated by many positive experiences, and we usually laugh more with our friends and family – but laughing with your work colleagues builds trust and connectivity both of which improve workplace wellbeing and increased performance. So why is laughter viewed as a behaviour to be best avoided at work? Is work a solemn undertaking only to be undertaken with gravity?
The Lutheran attitude to work was one of toil and labour to bring us closer to God, not something meant to be enjoyed. It was philosopher Karl Marx who identified work as good for us, an act helping us to feel purposeful, contributing to something collective and collaborative and for the greater good of everyone. These traditional views have helped shape our attitude to work, and even today we still see work as a serious business.
After the age of 23 the amount we laugh starts to plummet pretty rapidly until our mid-sixties when it increases to childhood levels. Our declining laughter tendencies seem to map our career trajectory in reverse. Research also shows that we laugh and smile a lot more at the weekend. Yet other survey data suggests senior executives feel a good sense of humour will help employment prospects.
At Laughter Lab we like to highlight that laughter isn’t always linked to just being funny.
Being amused does often lead to laughter, but that’s not always because someone has cracked a joke or is the office comedian. There are plenty of opportunities for increased levity and light-heartedness, we just have to look for them and give ourselves permission to be jolly. Laughing at work is not just acceptable but should be encouraged.
Take the pressure off with a bit of lightness and people are more likely to think creatively and be innovative. They will share ideas openly without concern for being thought stupid or risky. The last year has taught us to be agile and quick-thinking in times of pressure and to look out for each other. Laughter provides a safe and comfortable environment in which to explore ideas.
There is also hierarchy in workplace laughter; leaders are more likely to be successful when intentionally provoking laughter in those who report into them. Is this because they are well-liked by their team? Well, not always. This is often a display of subordination and reverence as laughter can represent pecking order – so it’s important as a manager to understand why your team laugh at your not very funny anecdotes and if you reciprocate by laughing at theirs. Do you share laughter with others or simply receive it? One easy way to think it about it - does it mirror how much laughter you generate in others outside of work? If it doesn’t, perhaps you might need to explore your relationship with your team more deeply. As a leader, your role is to encourage a lighter mood and attitude, not to be the headline act.
Laughter is complicated and represents many things, some of which is unconscious. But at work it can signal play and acceptance and builds trust between colleagues. This is why we love to work with teams and organisations to look at how laughter and positive behaviours are used and endorsed in your businesses, and think about ways to promote greater levity whilst getting the work done.
If you are back in the workplace, take some time to enjoy some laughter and if you are still working from home, set some time aside for adhoc meetings with work friends to reconnect on that personal level – send an invite for a ten minute coffee with an agenda that avoids work talk or vocabulary.
And whistle while you work.
Jane