The document discusses appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor in the workplace. It provides examples of appropriate humor, such as using a panic button to lighten the mood when deadlines are looming. Inappropriate humor includes teasing about performance, prejudice, or sexual topics. The benefits of appropriate humor are listed as getting people to listen, increasing persuasiveness and likeability, minimizing distance with bosses, diffusing conflicts, increasing focus, motivation, productivity and cooperation.

1. HUMOUR AT WORK

2. APPROPRIATE HUMOUR
• Let's say that your department has some pretty heavy deadlines
looming, and as a High Performance Leader you want to keep your
people engaged and inspired. So, you decide to bring in a bell
with panic written on it and say something like this to your team:
• "Okay we are going to have to pull together, and really focus to meet
our deadlines, but we also want to remember that part of our
mantra in this team is 'to have fun as we deliver great service. So, hit
the panic button, folks, whenever you are feeling overwhelmed or
need to remember to lighten up."
• Doing something like this, will relieve some of the tension people
might be feeling, provide some perspective and help to make them
feel a little better about the situation. Your people will understand
that you, the leader, want to achieve your goals AND you are
keeping a clear head about making sure the workplace is engaging.
• Injecting some humor in the workplace is likely to keep people
focused AND help them to get the job done more efficiently.

3. INAPPROPRIATE HUMOUR
• Inappropriate workplace humor is anything that causes others
to feel uncomfortable. Teasing someone about their
performance and laughing about it amongst coworkers is
inappropriate and unprofessional ... there are some people
who seem to think this type of humor will get the person to
'pick up their game.' It doesn't.
• It's also inappropriate workplace humor, for example, if
there's any type of prejudice involved, such as racial humor,
making fun of someone's disability, physical appearance, or
gender biased humor. And, of course, any sexually based
humor is completely inappropriate. All of these could well lead
you to the lawyers office on discrimination charges.

4. GUIDELINESFORHANDLING
INAPPROPRIATEWORKPLACEHUMOR
A. Don't encourage or participate it - either as a leader or within your
peer group
B. Don't stay silent about it - firmly but calmly state that you think
this was inappropriate
C. Don't fight back by similarly making fun of the person doing the
instigating in the first place
D. If you are unable to handle it yourself then report the incident to
your manager or human resources immediately. Chances are,
there's probably actually a policy against this type of humor
Inappropriate humor doesn't belong in the workplace ... make sure
that the humor never excludes anyone and causes people to become
distracted because they are feeling bad.
Certainly keeping the vibe in the workplace light by using appropriate
humor ... something that surprises and leaves people feeling good ... is
one of the tools you want to use regularly to create a workplace that
engages and energizes.

5. BENEFITS OF USING
HUMOUR AT WORK

6. • Humour Gets People to Listen : Have you ever noticed
that the serial jokers in the office get more attention
than anyone else? Yes? Well, that’s why you need to start
cracking jokes at work.
• It Will Make You More Persuasive : No matter how crazy
what you want to propose is, by employing humour you
can get everyone to agree with you because humour
distracts people from coming up with counterarguments.
• It Will Make You More Likeable : The more popular you
are at work the more chances you have of getting your
way. And humour can increase your popularity so that’s
another reason to give it a go.

7. • It Minimizes the Distance Between You and Your Boss :
Relationships with bosses can be awkward. You spend every
single day with that person; you share so much and yet just
because they are above you on the pay scale there’s a distance
between you and them which can severely hinder your
chances of getting on friendly terms with them. But, using
humour can help you minimize this distance as it makes
people feel more comfortable.
• It Diffuses Conflicts : Not having conflicts at work is
impossible. It’s not only the fact that you spend so much time
with your colleagues, but it’s also to do with the fact that you
will often not see eye to eye on everything and this will result
in arguments. And I’m sure that when this happens, you’ll
have no interest in backing down. But, humour can actually
help diffuse the situation without anyone backing down.

8. • It Makes You More Focused : Did you know that using
humour at work can do lots of great things for your
intellectual capabilities as well? Humour releases a
chemical called serotonin in your brain which increases
your brain’s strength thus making you more focused.
• It Will Make You More Motivated : Humour can make you
feel more comfortable and like you are having fun which
can also help make you feel more motivated at work.
• 8. It Reduces Stress : Stress is one of the most serious and
common side-effects of having a full-time job. But, humour
can help in this area as well as it helps reduce stress.

9. • It Will Make You More Productive : Most employees seek
a workplace that is fun because a fun workplace can help
make people feel more at ease thus facilitating their
productivity and this is precisely why you should be using
humour at work.
• It Enables Cooperation : Working with colleagues on a
project is not always fun. But, if you and your colleagues
decide to employ humour in your project, and your
relationship, it will be easier to work with each other and
get optimal results.