HUMOR ME!

The Role of Humor in the Workplace

by Kellie Schroeder
BJ’s Journal ~ FALL 2001

Whoosh! The sound of a gigantic flying salmon is nearly drowned out by uproarious applause erupting from curious onlookers. No, this isn’t a show at Sea World. It’s just another day at work for the fishmongers at Seattle’s Pike Place Fish. Clad in white aprons and black rubber boots, Johnny Yokoyama and his fish-tossing employees have stumbled upon an almost revolutionary idea-combining fun with work.

People spend about 75 percent of their waking hours doing work related activities. So, as Johnny and the guys see it if they’re going to spend that much time working, they might as well enjoy themselves! And in doing so, they’ve managed to turn the not-so-glamorous job of selling fish into a vibrant, almost-legendary business that now attracts customers from around the globe.

Pike Place Fish was just a quiet modest little fish stand in Seattle’s historic open-air market when Johnny bought the business back in 1965. And so it remained, until a few years back when Johnny and his employees decided they wanted to start really reeling in the customers. Collectively, they made it their goal to become “world famous.” and they did it not by sinking money into an advertising campaign–they never spent a dime on ads–but by creating a fun, playful work environment.

“I love my employees,” Johnny says. “They have fun with the customers and each other, and that makes it fun to be here!” Evidently, loads of people agree with him. The fish-flying antics of his energetic employees have become the highlight of the market. They’ve been immortalized by filmmakers, TV producers, and journalists the world over And, hundreds of business owners have begun to incorporate the foshmonger’s fun-based philosophy into their own companies.

Granted, most of us don’t have the types of jobs where throwing objects in the air would be looked upon too highly. But it’s no fish story that a little humor in the workplace can have far-flung benefits.

No Laughing Matter

Unless you’re fortunate enough to be, say, an ice cream taste-tester, chances are you’ve experienced on-the-job stress. In today’s fast-paced, ever-changing work environment, it’s little wonder that one-third of the workers surveyed admitted in a recent Wall Street Journal poll that they had considered quitting their fobs because of stress. And 14 percent actually did!

Seems that stress is no laughing matter, or is it? According to recent studies, instead of reaching for a bottle of extra-strength aspirin at work, we might be better off pulling out our favorite joke book or Dilbert cartoon.

A study in American Health magazine reveals that people who are in a good mood organize data better, are more creative, and perform better at memory tasks. Research also shows that employees who say they have fun at work are more satisfied with their jobs and are less likely to be absent or late, In fact, 84 percent of executives and personnel directors believe that employees with a good sense of humor work better.

The Best Medicine

It’s little wonder, then, that more and more business executives are encouraging employees to “lighten up.” From Fortune 500 to family-run corner stores, companies are finding that Readers Digest had it right all along– laughter is the best medicine.

Dr. Joel Goodman understands how a hearty dose of laughter can cure a host of corporate ills. Be it sagging morale, sluggish productivity, or slowing creativity, a good shot of levity can help boost most any business.

“The laugh line and the bottom line can intersect,” explains the popular humor consultant and author of eight books, including Laffirmations: 1,001 Ways to Add Humor to Your Life and Work and the forthcoming Chicken Soup for the Laughing Soul.

“A report to the president’s science advisor places the cost of stress to the economy at $200 billion annually,” says Joel. “Humor can be a powerful antidote to stress. If you stand rigid in the face of stress, you are much more easily knocked off balance. If you are flexible mentally, you’re in a better position to roll with the punches.”

And he should know. As the founder and director of the HUMOR Project in Saratoga Springs, New York, Joel has helped hundreds of organizations,from IBM to the IRS to the FBI, get the most “Smilage” out of humor.

“I’ve found that ‘ha-ha’ and ‘aha!’ are intimately connected,” Joel explains. “When change is accelerating, if people aren’t creative and innovative, they’ll be left behind, Humor can give us a new perspective on an old reality.”

Laughing All the Way to the Bank

That’s a lesson that Jim Laffey (no pun intended!), CEO of the printing company Color for Realtors, seemed to know instinctively. Jim had no business background when he turned his basement into the corporate headquarters for his new company. But he did have a gut feeling about how he could differentiate his firm and make a go of it in a fiercely competitive industry.

“We decided to do everything differently early on,” recalls Jim. “I knew if I didn’t have fun at work, I’d end up quitting. And there’s not one shred of evidence to support the notion that life has to be serious.” So he set about making work fun.

Before long, he outgrew his basement and moved into much larger digs in Lee, Massachusetts. Now, six years later, the company that bills itself as “The Way Coolest Real Estate Color Printer in the USA” boasts sales of more than $6 million.

He credits much of his success to the fact that he and his employees don’t take themselves too seriously. “Humor is the most underrated, overlooked, value-added service you can provide. And it costs you nothing,” says Jim. “It’s much easier to sell if you can make a client laugh first.”

Jim admits that he heard his share of nay sayers at first. “People tried to dissuade me from my approach because they thought I’d appear unprofessional,” Jim recalls. “But we’ve gotten more positive feedback from our customers than you could ever imagine.”

In fact, Jim receives calls from customers actually requesting to be put on hold, A whole team of overworked West Coast realtors will huddle around the telephone receiver just to hear his medley of hold music. Admittedly, it would take a hard-hearted soul not to crack a smile after hearing the theme song from “The Flintstones” or “The Beverly Hillbillies” in the midst of a hectic workday.

Wait Management

Darren LaCroix, founder of “The Humor Institute”, applauds Jim’s refreshing attitude towards what he calls “Wait Management.” As a corporate consultant and the coauthor of Laugh and Get Rich: How to Profit from Humor in Any Business, Darren says that one of the most effective ways to use humor in business is to help relieve the tension in those around us.

And the fact is, people hate to wait! So, it’s almost a no-brainer that anything a business does to alleviate that tension will go a long way in building relationships with customers.

To reduce any tension clients may feel in his waiting room, Jim has tossed all those dreary magazines. He’s even pulled up the carpet and replaced it with Astro-turf. His clients wile away their time putting golf balls or walking one of the many dogs that roam the company’s corridors. And they couldn’t be happier.

And neither could his employees! “All employees want more money,” Darren explains. “If you give them more money, and they’re not happy, all you have is rich, unhappy employees. The key is to build a happier workplace.”

To that end, Jim schedules regular field trips for all his employees. They turn off the computers and leave an outgoing message explaining that everyone’s hone to a bowling party, to pick apples, or to the museum, as the case may be. “And when we return people work at double speed because they’re refreshed,”says Jim. “Our clients don’t mind at all, In fact, they say, ‘I wish my company would do that!”

Adios to “Bored Meetings

Dr. Joel Goodman maintains that if more companies emulated Jim, they would undoubtedly experience lower employee turnover. “Companies like Southwest Airlines and Ben & Jerry’s have long understood the importance of humor and fun. They understand that humor is a great way of preventing hardening of the attitudes,” Joel quips.

He tells of one company whose department head has done away with “bored” meetings by requiring people attending his meetings to shed their stuffy suits and wear Hawaiian shirts.

Then there’s Ben & Jerry’s. The purveyors of frozen confections offer “Joy Grants” to employees who have an idea that will bring ,ore happiness into the workplace.

And the good-humored crew at Southwest Airlines is apt to announce, “There may be 50 ways to leave your lover. But there are only six ways to leave our aircraft.” These mirthful folks also insist that pilot applicants be interviewed wearing Southwest shorts and t-shirts to gauge whether they’ll fin into the company’s humor-based culture.

Rick Segel, a BJ’s Member and author of Retail Business Kit for Dummies: How to Drive Traffic to Your Business and coauthor of Laugh & Get Rich, says the benefit of such policies is clear- higher employee retention and increased morale. “There’s a lot of competition for employees,” he explains. “People are looking for more than just money. They want quality of life.

Flying the Funny Skies

Dan Wolfe, president of Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines, couldn’t agree more.l His company, which served as the inspiration for the hit TV show “Wings,” is driven by his business mantra-”Mocha Hagotdi.” No, it isn’t Starbucks’ flavor of the month. And it’s not some Far East philosophy either. It’s an acronym Dan and his employees hit upon when writing the company’s mission statement-”Make Our Customers Happy, And Have A Good Time Doing It.” “I’ve discovered that if you want to succeed in business, finding people who celebrate humor is essential,” says Dan. “It’s a great tool on the front line to bring everyone together. Employees tend to stay with a company longer when they’re having fun at work.”

That’s not to say that Dan and his pilots don’t take their work seriously. Defying gravity to fly customers from point A to point B is no laughing matter. But, as Dan is quick to point out,”Being professional is not to be confused with being dull!”

Caveats for Corporate Comedians

With so many benefits to incorporate humor, why do some executives still steer clear of anything smacking of fun? In a word-fear! “People think that if you encourage everyone to be humorous, someone will do something they think is funny and wind up offending someone else,”admits Dan. “But I’ve very rarely had a problem with this. If you trust people, they’ll use it responsibly.”

Dr. Joel Goodman advises businesses grappling with that matter to teach employees to use humor as a tool rather than as a weapon.l He uses Susan RoAne’s AT&T humor litmus test- is the humor Appropriate, Timely, and Tasteful? If not, you may end up rupturing teamwork rather than building it up. “In the words of one fifth grade teacher, ‘You don’t have to blow out my candle to make yours glow brighter,’ ” Joel says. “We teach people to use humor to build people up, not tear people down.”

And while it’s true that humor can be used to create an informal environment that encourages open communication, in certain cases, humor can actually create obstacles to building relationships. “If you’re always joking and never serious, there’s the risk that you may appear superficial and unconcerned,” explains Dan. “We don’t want people to think we don’t take them or their concerns seriously.”

You should never use humor as a shield to duck a discussion of serious issues. A CEO joking about slashing the workforce when employees are genuinely concerned about losing their jobs, for example, obviously would be a bad idea. The executive appears callous and insensitive, and further fuels the fires of negativity already smoldering beneath the surface!

Whenever there’s any doubt, a comical observation about a personal predicament is usually the safest way to get people laughing. “Laughing with others builds confidence, brings people together, and pokes fun at our common dilemmas,” observes Joel. “Humor is a delightful and powerful way to open doors, minds, and hearts. Isn’t that what we and our organizations should be doing?”

Finding Your Funny Bone at Work

The physiological effects of a good laugh combat stress-muscles relax, blood pressure sinks to prelaugh levels, and the brain may release endorphins-feel-good stress reducers. Think about it…have you ever belly laughed and felt badly at the same time? Here are a few ways workers can find their funny bones.

• Keep a smile file. “Make your own humor library and then set a goal to start each meeting with a humorous quote or hand out a cartoon,” suggests Joel Goodman.
• Put humor in the environment. “You don’t have to be a joke teller,”Joel says. “Instead, create a humor bulletin board in the office.”
• Pretend you’re the host of “Candid Camera” and catch people in the act of being themselves of five minutes a day.
• Keep a stash of fun office toys. Keep a bag of tricks complete with a Slinky, Koosh Balls, Silly Putty, Tinkertoys, and a Pogo Stick.
• Make your own humor mantra. “People say,”Someday we’ll laugh about this,’” says Joel. “Your mantra might be, ‘Why wait?!”

As seen in BJ’S Journal.