Interesthing Things About Humor And Business

Two people who share an office at work had a rather surprising exchange the other day. Their talk revolved around the popular TV show "Heroes." If you're not familiar with this show, mankind has evolved in such a way that certain people now have special powers.

The woman in the office said, "If I had a special power, I'd want to be able to fly."

The man retorted, "Oh? Getting tired of the broom thing?"

Whoa! That guy was in for a beating of words. Right? Yet the woman only faked offense and then shrugged off his comments. Later she gave back a similar, good-natured jab.

This kind of back and forth insulting is fairly common between these two workers, and yet they have a great deal of respect for each other, and they get along very well.

Compare this episode to the recent "Special Olympics" joke made by President Obama on the Jay Leno show where he compared his bowling to watching the Special Olympics. Although many people were quick to excuse the President's remarks, there was almost universal agreement that the statements were grossly off-base.

What is it that allows one type of insulting humor to be acceptable while another is completely out-of-bounds?

There are two key components in play, context and audience.

First of all the context in which humor is expressed is very important. The more public and the more formal the setting in which you appear, the less tolerance there will be for humorous, insulting remarks. In the President's case, he was in a very public setting as a representative of the highest level of the Federal government. Even in the informal banter taking place on Jay Leno, there is no such thing as a casual setting for the President of the United States. His role in society is so very public and so very important, any setting where he is with more than a few trusted advisors will never be perceived as anything less than very public and moderately formal.

In the case of the two office workers, we would expect the setting to be fairly public and fairly formal. After all that's what is meant by the idea of professionalism, a key component of effective work environments. Yet since the discussion was in their office with only one other person present, and since the three co-workers had good rapport, the setting actually turned out to be mostly private and very informal. It was a small island of private informality in a larger setting of public formality.

The second component is audience. Who is listening to the humor being expressed? In the case of the office banter, that particular insult would probably not work with most people. Both of the office workers have a personality where they each enjoy some level of good-natured insults. But many people are not that comfortable with such talk. It really depends on the personality of those listening. Also, if the people who are listening have developed a deep level of fondness for the person making the joke, they can tolerate much edgier humor than if they don't really know the person making the joke.

With the President, he obviously had a very broad, diverse group of people listening to him. It was inevitable that many people would be offended. And for what benefit? It generated a cheap laugh with no potential to gain something positive. Those same words said by someone among a group of friends would likely have had much less impact. The humor would have been far less likely to create a stir, so there would have been much less downside. Of course, even in a small setting those words could easily cause offense if someone in the group happens to have a child with a disability. Restricting your use of humor to topics you know are safe with the audience in which you find yourself is key.

Given these realities, should you ever use humor in your workplace?

Humor in the workplace can be good, because despite its risks, it can build teamwork in a way unmatched by other methods. Anything that encourages people with teamwork in a common cause helps make business dealings more efficient. But if you're going to use humor in the workplace, be sure to stay on safe ground. Don't lose sight of how public your setting is. Additionally, always remember your audience. The less edgy your humor is, the more likely it will be to lead to positive results. Take the safe road. Give common sense an upper hand with your humor at work.

Want some ideas for safe humor you can use at work? Get a thought of the day for work to spark your creative juices. You can also display a free content thought of the day on your blog or web site.

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