Workplace Humor: Laughter That Won’t Cost You Your Job

The employee with the greatest sense of humor is often the most liked person in any office setting. Aside from lightening an otherwise stressful and boring environment, having a sense of humor will also ensure that everybody’s sanity is intact at the end of the day.

Often, the person with the sense of humor is the one who has the most lunch and after-office invitations from colleagues. He or she is the person the staffs turn to when they want to feel at ease or escape for a few minutes from the daily hustle and bustle.

Though a sense of humor is what will make people flock to you and love you more in the office, you should also be wary about the things you say. If you’re not careful with your words, they could all come back to you and backfire. The next thing you know, instead of making people happy, you could be arousing conflict among your workmates, or, worse, your boss.

Here are some recommendations to ensure that your sense of humor does not cross any sensitive line and get you fired.

Accept that you will never be able to please everyone around you. While some of your workmates might find you hilariously funny, there are those who might be sensitive to what you say.

Personal jokes and poking fun at someone’s appearance, intelligence, or whatever, is not funny at all. It is destructive and will not earn you brownie points. Stick to jokes that are general and avoid personal attacks, as they can hamper inter-office relationships and invite resentment.

You have to have good timing when you throw in a joke. Sometimes, the tension in the office is too high that cracking a joke does not really help solve matters. It’s not always appropriate to use your sense of humor in any situation. There’s a time to be serious.

If you really need to crack a joke because you feel it will lighten the mood, start slow and start small. If people respond positively, then that’s when you make another remark. If nobody seems to appreciate a small joke at this time, a huge joke might not be in order.

Don’t get carried away. If you’re the ‘office clown’ it’s really not your responsibility to make people laugh all the time. Don’t pressure yourself.

People tend to give you more credit and respect if you do well in your particular job. So, before you crack a joke about the office environment or about the tension that surrounds you all, make sure first that you’ve done your job well. After all, that’s what you’re at the office for. A person who neglects his duties and only focuses on ‘making people laugh’ is no good at all. Be one and your boss will surely fire you from your post before you can say, “I’m just kidding.”

Remember that the office is a place for work. While a great sense of humor is highly welcome, you must always keep in mind that there are tasks to be done and that merely cracking jokes won’t get the job completed. However, a good, well-time joke will also help motivate your colleagues to doing better. The key here is timing and content. Keep these two to heart.