It is generally accepted that the health and viability of any company or organization is directly related to the emotional and physical  health and well being of its employees or members.  If you have a happy and healthy staff you are going to be able to minimize people problems and people problems make up most of the workplace problems.

   
    I think it was Henry Ford who said,” Why is it that when all I need is a good pair of hands, they have to come attached to a human being?” He too realized that workplace problems are inevitably people problems and when you begin to solve people problems you begin to solve problems in the workplace.

   
    In a recent Ipsos-Reid poll it was revealed that 60
percent of all employees surveyed are dissatisfied with their job and that 43 percent of these are actively or passively looking for other employment.  The cause of this  was discovered to be a lack of appreciation and praise, poor or nonexistent communication between worker and supervisor and a lack of autonomy on the job.

   
William James once remarked that we all have an
insatiable hunger to be appreciated and it is so true.  When we feel that we are appreciated by those with whom and for whom we work job satisfaction increases dramatically and work place disease diminishes. People do not want to leave a job where they are appreciated and where their contributions are praised and celebrated.  On top of this if you really want a happy, productive and loyal workplace add humor and fun to the equation.

   
    When you commit yourself and the employees to humor and laughter you vaccinate your staff against the six deadly  dis-eases that are plaguing workplaces throughout the world.


Workplace Disease


* Stress
Employee stress is definitely on the rise and is causing serious problems for both employers and employees. It has been determined that unmanaged workplace stress is a 300 billion dollar profit killer in workplaces throughout North America. According to author Ravi Tangri companies could boost profits 14 percent per year by dealing with workplace stress and that stress management programs pay for themselves in six months. I read recently that half of all Long Term Disability claims are stress related and that a good number of worker absentees throughout the year are stress induced.


* High Employee Turnover

When people have to function in an unhealthy stress
filled work environment where appreciation and praise are absent they want out and begin to look elsewhere for meaningful and more satisfying employment.


* Low Morale

I believe that low morale is the inevitable result of
a lack of personalism in the workplace. When your staff perceives that they and their well being are priorities for management morale begins to improve.  It is in the best interest of management to care for the health and well being of its employees.

* Low Productivity

People who don’t feel valued don’t produce as well as
those who do.  This is a basic axiom in my opinion. It rings true in every area of human interaction.  I once had a woman approach me with glowing praise for her supervisor. When I asked why she felt this way she handed me a brief note written by the supervisor. It contained three lines and they said.

Dear Joy. Just a note to let you know how much I appreciate your presence and hard work in our department. We are better for having you among us.” 

That’s all it said, but the impact on this woman was profound. She would have walked over a field of


* Lack of Creative Problem Solving

When people work in a climate of encouragement,
empowerment and appreciation they are more willing to contribute their creativity to the solution of company problems.  Every organization needs creative employees and creativity thrives in a climate where people are listened to, valued and encouraged to laugh. Always remember that there is a huge reservoir of creative potential within the individual and collective wisdom of the group.  All one has to do is tap it.


* Lack of Effective Communication

Communication is fundamentally the sharing of self
with others. In an effective workplace employees need to be encouraged to honestly and comfortably say what is on their minds.  I once asked a manager, “ Who tells you what you need to know and don’t want to hear?” He thought for a moment and said, “ Nobody”.  This is a tragic situation but a very common one.

Most workers keep their opinions to themselves for fear of being labelled  a boat rocker.  I have news for you.  A company who wants to maximize the potential of its staff and reap the benefits of their collective wisdom must encourage people to be boat rockers. Boat rockers are a valuable asset to any company or organization.  Isn’t it sad that they are considered liabilities?  It is in the best interest of any company to encourage people to give their opinions whether they are dissenting or not.  No one person has a monopoly on wisdom, insight or correct thinking. We are richer when we access the attributes of the group.


How Humor Combats the Stressed Out Workplace

A few months ago I received a call from a supervisor
in a large company in New York City asking me to work with his organization on implementing a humor in the workplace program.  In the course of our conversation he said, “ Now Mike I’m not going to end up with a bunch of people sitting around telling jokes all day am I?”  I assured him that this is not what humor in the workplace involves.  His question did, however illustrate the misconception and the reservations that many managers and supervisors have about humor in the Workplace.

I don’t like the incessant telling of jokes in the workplace or in a social gathering. Sharing humorous experiences and stories  yes, jokes no. The reason why I don’t like jokes is that the telling of them tends to be competitive. I tell a joke and before the listeners have a chance to laugh someone jumps in with another and someone with another. On it goes.  It is almost as if the tellers are trying to better one another. The other problem I have with jokes is that they can be offensive to someone in the group and that is not what humor is meant to do. You want humor to entertain and united not offend and divide.
   
    When I talk about humor in the workplace I am talking about fostering and encouraging a climate where humor, laughter and fun are seen as vital ingredients to a heathy, happy and productive place of business.


The Social Benefits of Humor


1. PROMOTES BONDING

Humor has been called “ Social Glue” because of its power to bond people to one another. People do gravitate to those who laugh easily and have a great sense of humor.  Just watch the next time someone in your organization tells a funny story about something that happened to them.  Not only are people eager to listen to a funny story but the shared laughter seems to bring the group closer together.  When a supervisor tells a funny self-deprecating story to his/ her department   the resulting  laughter seems to promote a, “ hey, we’re all in this together” attitude.

   
When you consider what organizations spend to send
their employees on team building seminars cultivating a climate of humor makes a lot of financial sense.  It is the ultimate team builder.


2. BANISHES BOREDOM

Humor and laughter tend to banish boredom and boredom has been identified as a destructive reality within a  workplace.  Laughter, by its very definition, implies fun and fun is never boring.  I once asked a member of my audience if he liked his job. He replied, “ No I hate it, but I do enjoy coming to work. When I asked him why he said, “ The people I work with are a lot of fun to be with and we have a lot of laughs.” The most tedious of jobs can be enjoyable if humor, and fun are present.


3. HEALTH AND HAPPINESS

Health, happiness and humor go hand in hand. When you have a workplace where people laugh easily and often chances are that you are going to have a health and happy workplace. a place where employees like to be. 
This kind of positive environment is conducive to high morale and high productivity.
The fact that humor cuts stress in half and enhances our immune system adds to its value.


4. FOSTERS FLEXIBILITY

People with a good sense of humor and a ready laugh tend to be more flexible.  They usually take their job seriously but not themselves and therefore are more open and receptive to the ideas of others. People who take themselves too seriously are often difficult to work with and inflexible.  The term uptight comes to mind.  When a company’s supervisors or managers have a great sense of humor and take delight in the humor of other staff members they give people the freedom to try and the freedom to fail. When this is present comfort levels, and  creative achievement are high.  People can soar to great heights of creativity when they know that they are free to fail.  Wisdom helps us avoid mistakes and comes from making a ton of them.


5. RELAXATION

Laughter cuts stress levels in half thus lessening
employee anxiety.  If stress is a major cause of absenteeism among employees it is vital to reduce stress and in the process decrease a high rate of absentees. People don’t want to stay away from a place that is fun and people who are fun to be with. When absentees are reduced you save money.
Laughter also  impacts positively on the bottom line when you consider that happy people tend to be more productive.


6. REDUCING CONFLICT

Earlier in this article I mentioned that all workplace
problems are people problems and if you solve people problems you solve workplace problems. Well humor goes a long way in the solution of the inevitable conflicts that arises in human relationships.  People that laugh together like one another. You don’t laugh with people you don’t like. When conflict does arise among people who like one another it is more easily handled.  You might get angry at someone you like but odds are you won’t stay angry long and in no time you will be back
enjoying one another. One thing you can count on when employing a  humor program and that is that you will have increase co-operation and mutual support among your staff.


7.  INCREASED ENERGY

Humor increases the oxygen levels in our blood
resulting in increased energy. What organization couldn’t use a dose of increased employee energy at specific times throughout the day. To illustrate my point consider for a moment how tired you feel after a week of hard work on the job. You come home on a Friday night worn out. All you want is a quiet, restful weekend doing as little as possible. 

Just as you walk through the door your significant
other tells you that you have been invited to a party that evening.  You immediately make it clear that you DON”T want to go. After being convinced that a party is just what you need  you give in.  At 1:00 a.m you return from the party. It was a lot of fun with a great deal of laughter and good company. You get into bed and you can’t get to sleep. You are filled with energy and sleep is impossible.  What happened to the fatigue that was plaguing you hours earlier?


CONCLUSION   

When you consider workplace dis-ease and its negative impact on your business or organization you will be hard pressed to find a more effective, cost efficient solution than a program including humor, laughter, appreciation and praise.  They fit together like hand and glove and are very simple to implement. All you need is a commitment from upper management and a few training sessions to teach the hows and whys of such a program. Once you have your people on board you will be able to see your workplace culture improve significantly.

Mike Moore is an international authority on humor in the workplace and humor and health. For more information on the subject  Visit His website here