01.02.2023
THE BENEFITS OF LAUGHTER IN THE WORKPLACE
"According to research from major institutions such as Horton, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the London School of Business and Finance, every giggle or giggle carries with it a number of benefits," writes Alison Beard in HBR.
"Laughter relieves stress and boredom, increases engagement, improves well-being, and induces not only creativity and collaboration, but also analytical precision and productivity."
Harvard Business School lecturer Alison Woods Brooks also found that cracking jokes in the workplace can make people appear more competent.
But what about being the subject of jokes and laughing heartily?
It can also bring a number of benefits to employees. "When you start laughing, it not only relieves your mental burden, but actually causes physical changes in your body," explains the Mayo Clinic.
This improves your intake of "oxygen-rich air", increasing endorphin release in your brain. "It can also stimulate circulation and muscle relaxation, which in turn help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress."
With all the research showing that less stress benefits employees and reduces absenteeism, the freedom to laugh seems like something that's not just good, but necessary at work.
A group of researchers even found that after watching a comedy video, employees were 10% more productive than their colleagues.
Of course, too much humor or laughter can have its drawbacks. For example, leaders who belittle employees or tell dirty jokes may set the stage for other employees to misbehave.
Within decency, however, laughter is generally a good thing, and the benefits far outweigh the risks.
So laugh freely, not every day all day of course. It's always good to be aware of the decibels in your environment and not distract colleagues.
As Harvard Medical School professor Carl Marcy says, “laughter is a social signal between people. He is like a punctuation mark.”
Sometimes in the midst of a stressful day, it helps to be the exclamation mark.
