Though we all experienced an unprecedented season over the last 16 months, how it touched each individually was unique. Some were blessed to have a monthly salary but faced ever-increasing workload challenges and chaos along with shrinking resources. Others dug deep into your creativity to earn a living. All felt pressure as never before.
Never in my wildest imagination could I have conceived what became our reality. However, the “stand-up-in-the-face-of-upheaval” is a positive muscle I’m thankful for strengthening and expanding.
I don’t know about you, for me, humor has been my favorite companion through it all. The chuckles and full-on belly laughs—even when alone—brought sanity into my crazy, emotionally topsy-turvy world.
It turns out I was on to something. Humor serves a broad range of functions when it comes to your work and career experience. It is instrumental in generating a collegial, productive environment through the Six Humor S’s.
- Savvy Leadership: Did you know employees asked by Bell Leadership Institute the strengths and weaknesses of their leaders mentioned a sense of humor, along with work ethics, twice as often as any other phrase.
- Spirit of Lightheartedness: It is a galvanizer of team collaboration. Somehow, when humor is a team’s trademark, individual weaknesses don’t seem quite as challenging, so the group becomes more unified, productive and enjoys their encounters. A laughing team is a dynamic team!
- Sparks Innovation: Not surprisingly, research by Karuna Subramaniam while at Northwestern University found, when humans are in an upbeat mindset, it provides a fertile environment for the brain to come up with original solutions. Humor boosts employee’s creative capacity. It seems people in a positive mood generally have more anterior cingulate cortex activity going into the task leads to better ideas.[1] And we all know how imperative innovation is for the prosperity of companies. Turns out humor is a key factor in releasing those creative juices.
- Strengthens Communication: Some may argue that humor has no place in business. I don’t see it that way, nor does research support that position. Its benefit in the workplace is uncontestable. There is a litany of positive results such as builds trust and group cohesion, encourages positive interactions, develops resiliency to stress, fosters productivity, lowers anxiety, prevents burnout, to name a few. Well, I think you get the picture.
- Stimulates Employee Motivation: We all know the staggering loss of profitability companies sustain through employee disengagement. As it turns out, humor contributes to job satisfaction, and maximizes workforce performance. Jessica Pryce-Jones’ research compiled results from 3,000 people in 79 countries. The happiest employees were 18 percent more energized and 155 percent happier with their jobs. They spent 80 percent of their week on work-related tasks, compared to the 40 percent their least happy coworkers.[2] Don’t you love it… a sense of humor makes a manager’s job easier?
- SALARY: Yes, the biggest and most personal reason of all…. Your promotions happen faster along with increasing income!
Next time all around you is falling apart… smile…even if you’re working at it. You’ll discover the Six Humor S’s coming into play as they support you in moving from doom and gloom into sunshine and roses!
Don’t you love it when career advice comes wrapped in a bow that is fun to acquire? Check out www.thrivewithnancy.com for many more resources.
[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-tao-innovation/201406/the-power-humor-in-ideation-and-creativity
[2] https://online.uwa.edu/news/benefits-of-smiling-and-laughter/
