A recent study found that there is a positive correlation between employee happiness and workplace safety: the happier the employees were, the safer the work environment tended to be. Of course, this could also be a chicken and egg relationship: maybe people are happier when they feel safe? I know I'd be happier if I didn't have to worry about my own safety every day! But this relationship does make sense to me. When employees are more engaged, more inspired, or just plain happier, chances are they are less stressed out, more communicative, more creative and more alert. People who actually want to be at work on a Monday morning are going to, I think, be more aware of their environment and more conscientious about their working environment and the well-being of their coworkers. But beyond the general "feel good", morale-boosting humor factor, I believe there are several ways humor in the workplace can create a safer work environment:
Creating a culture in the workplace where levity is part of the makeup is a topic of great study at this time. Findings show that when people who work together can laugh together it makes their relationships closer. For laughter to occur there has to be an understanding that is built on a relationship between the sender and the receiver. We all know what it is like when you say something funny and the other person does not laugh, there was not a connection with that person with what you were trying to transmit to them. It is the emotional connection, the shared meaning between the sender and receiver that is the key. There is an intimacy in humor when you laugh with someone, it is a bond that says "I understand what you are saying, I get it".
This is because no matter how good you are at what you do, you will run into difficult, awkward, or even hostile situations. The most effective way to defuse these is by injecting a little levity. Of course, you don't want a doctor to crack a joke when she's telling you that you have cancer, but if you are able to laugh over the course of your treatment, it can only help. (Numerous studies back me up here. Look it up.) The oncologist who treated my grandmother was one of the funniest people I've ever met. I'm sure that alone extended her life a bit, and it certainly made her last years more enjoyable.
Humor can make your (sometimes) dreadfully boring safety meetings come to life I've been there-I drew the shortest straw, and thus had to represent my department at the mandated monthly safety meetings. In other words, I, like most of the other folks at the table, HAD to be there. But wouldn't it be better if people WANTED to be at your safety meetings? If they WANTED to be fully present? If they WANTED to participate and share their ideas?
Meetings don't have to suck the soul out of everybody attending them to be effective. You really can make meetings more productive and have more fun at the same time. Adding some humor to the meeting agenda, having a fun ritual to kick off or end the meeting, including door prizes in the meeting, opening up your safety meeting with a funny safety-related quote or showing humorous safety videos, are all simple but effective ways of bringing a little fun and energy into any safety meeting
HA + HA = AHA! Humor sparks creative thinking There is, in fact, a huge correlation between humor and creativity. Humor in the workplace reduces stress, promotes lateral thinking and again, helps us see things in a different way. Both humor and creativity are about looking at your challenges and seeing them in a fresh, new way. So if you need to get creative about solving some of your safety issues, creative in terms of how you secure more money out of the old budget, or you need to get more creative with your safety messages, then, once again, a little humor goes a long way.
So learn how to be funny. It will serve you better than any "A" you ever got in math.
Creating a culture in the workplace where levity is part of the makeup is a topic of great study at this time. Findings show that when people who work together can laugh together it makes their relationships closer. For laughter to occur there has to be an understanding that is built on a relationship between the sender and the receiver. We all know what it is like when you say something funny and the other person does not laugh, there was not a connection with that person with what you were trying to transmit to them. It is the emotional connection, the shared meaning between the sender and receiver that is the key. There is an intimacy in humor when you laugh with someone, it is a bond that says "I understand what you are saying, I get it".
This is because no matter how good you are at what you do, you will run into difficult, awkward, or even hostile situations. The most effective way to defuse these is by injecting a little levity. Of course, you don't want a doctor to crack a joke when she's telling you that you have cancer, but if you are able to laugh over the course of your treatment, it can only help. (Numerous studies back me up here. Look it up.) The oncologist who treated my grandmother was one of the funniest people I've ever met. I'm sure that alone extended her life a bit, and it certainly made her last years more enjoyable.
Humor can make your (sometimes) dreadfully boring safety meetings come to life I've been there-I drew the shortest straw, and thus had to represent my department at the mandated monthly safety meetings. In other words, I, like most of the other folks at the table, HAD to be there. But wouldn't it be better if people WANTED to be at your safety meetings? If they WANTED to be fully present? If they WANTED to participate and share their ideas?
Meetings don't have to suck the soul out of everybody attending them to be effective. You really can make meetings more productive and have more fun at the same time. Adding some humor to the meeting agenda, having a fun ritual to kick off or end the meeting, including door prizes in the meeting, opening up your safety meeting with a funny safety-related quote or showing humorous safety videos, are all simple but effective ways of bringing a little fun and energy into any safety meeting
HA + HA = AHA! Humor sparks creative thinking There is, in fact, a huge correlation between humor and creativity. Humor in the workplace reduces stress, promotes lateral thinking and again, helps us see things in a different way. Both humor and creativity are about looking at your challenges and seeing them in a fresh, new way. So if you need to get creative about solving some of your safety issues, creative in terms of how you secure more money out of the old budget, or you need to get more creative with your safety messages, then, once again, a little humor goes a long way.
So learn how to be funny. It will serve you better than any "A" you ever got in math.
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