7 powerful ways to enhance your work-life by using humour at work

“Go to hell,” during a heated argument, my boss yelled at me! 

I kept sitting in his cabin. 

“What?” He was furious. 

You just asked me to keep sitting here, didn’t you? I mumbled with a smile. 

He smiled back. 

And then we both had a hearty laugh. 

The discussions that followed were productive, and one of the best I have ever had. It was collaborative, enjoyable, and the outcomes were brilliant. 

I strongly opine, “One good laugh—or better still, a workplace that encourages levity—builds cohesion.”

So today on the International Joke Day, let me share with you 7 powerful ways to enhance your work-life using humour at work. 

#1 Execute your everyday tasks with humour 

A regular task you do at work may seem mundane. You will soon get bored and eventually lose interest. This will have a severe impact on productivity and thus on the quality of output. 

To produce quality output, you need to enjoy the work you do. To begin with a joke. You could read it to yourself or listen to it on a video. It would be even better if you can share a joke with your colleagues. 

This will give you a grand start. And as they say it, well begun is half done. 

Also, don’t just stop at a-joke-in-the-beginning. Extend it to during the work and after completion. 

This has proved to reduce stress, improve productivity, prevent burnout, and keep you motivated throughout. 

The most boring task can become interesting when you do so. 

When you are highly productive, you will get noticed and that can go a long way to ensure your promotion! 

#2 Ideate with humour. 

I have seen people being very serious when they are thinking, planning or strategizing.

Serious plans need a lot of seriousness, right? 

Well, you have got it absolutely wrong there. 

Serious thinking is the left brain function. It makes you calculative. But who has ever got all the numbers right? 

Humour while thinking, on the other hand, tickles your right brain. This helps you boost your creativity, improves focus, and overall brain power. 

You can take your problem-solving at a whole new level.  

So when you are thinking, don’t forget to joke! 

#3 Take important decisions with humour 

Jokes improve your mood. 

So whenever you are tensed about a tough decision (or even otherwise), crack a joke. 

I bet you will make better decisions. Give it a shot! 

#4 Communicate with humour 

How many times you have enjoyed a dull, boring presentation or even a chat with your friends? 

I hear you saying - NEVER! 

No humour, no focus. 

And no focus means no connect. 

We all connect with a humorous person. So use humour to communicate so people want to read/hear you.

#5 Persuade with humour. 

Imagine an instance when you had disagreed with a colleague of yours. He humoured that, and instead of getting into an endless argument; you agreed or agreed to disagree with him. 

Sound familiar? 

Humour distracts people from immediately creating counter-arguments.  

So, persuade with humour. 

You will double your chances of acceptance. 

#6 Connect with humour 

You don’t want to be perceived as a serious person with a lot of attitude, do you? 

No one really wants to talk to such people. 

Not having friends at work can have serious repercussions on your performance. 

Why do so much damage to yourself? 

Instead, be jovial. 

This helps establish an instant connection. The LOL moments spent at the office are the ones that you will always cherish, not the boring routine you had. 

Moreover, being jovial will foster trust. People will believe in you, and you could get whatever help you want. 

#7 Lead with humour 

Bosses don’t seem bossy when they lead with humour. I have no doubt you will agree to that. 

No one wants to report to a boss who means only serious business all the time. 

While that is what they are there for - when bosses can get their work with humour, we perceive them as leaders.

In situations of stress, if the boss is serious, the work that would have got done doesn’t get done. But when he cracks jokes in such situations instead, the team takes larger ownership and gets the work done faster than expected. 

Leading with humour, thus, helps create a culture of ownership, inclusivity, collaboration, and contribution. All of this gets done with no conflict. 

The team in no time becomes the best performing team. 

Summing up, 

use humour in everything that you probably do at the workplace. And to do it rightly, here are a few tips to keep in mind as stated in the book - The Humor Code:

• It’s not whether or not you’re funny, it’s what kind of funny you are. Be honest and authentic.
• If you can’t be “ha-ha” funny, at least be “aha!” funny. Cleverness is sometimes good enough.
• Good comedy is a conspiracy. Create an in-group.
• Don’t be afraid to chuckle at yourself. It signals everything is okay.
• Laughter is disarming. Poke fun at the stuff everyone’s worried about.

Have a Happy International Joke Day!