Institutions as serious as Wharton, MIT, and the London Business School agree: it’s time to bring some laughter in the workplace.
We laugh at shows like The Office, but work is a sober affair. Babies laugh an average of 400 times per day, but people over 35 only laugh an average of 15 times per day. Considering that 91% of executives believe a sense of humor is key to career advancement and 84% believe that people with a sense of humor do a better job, it’s time to bring some giggles, cackles, belly laughs, and guffaws back to the break room.
You don’t need to screen stand-up routines over lunch, but as a leader, bringing laughter into work with you is one of the best things you can do to bolster your teams. The key is to skip the bawdy Will Ferrell humor in favor of tactful, work appropriate comedy, and leaders are the ones who set the bar for acceptance.