Interesthing Things About Humor And Business

I heard about an interesting exchange between two people — a man and a woman — who share an office. They were talking about the 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 co-worker remarked, "If I had a special power, I'd want to be able to fly."

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

With that subtle reference that compares the woman to a witch, you'd probably think the man got buried in a barrage of angry, hurt words. Yet the woman merely pretended to take offense and then later good-naturedly jabbed the guy with with her own insult.

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.

Contrast this episode to the recent humor displayed 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. There is less tolerance for humor that insults as your setting gets more public and more formal. 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.

With the two office workers, they are in a seemingly public and formal setting. After all a key component of effective work environments in professionalism. Yet in reality since what they were saying was in their office with only one other person there with them, and since everyone present had good rapport, the setting actually was very informal and mostly private. It was a small island of private informality within the larger context 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.

The question then is, How does this knowledge of humor impact your professional settings?

Humor in the workplace is good, because despite its risks, it can build teamwork in a way unmatched by other methods. Anything that encourages people to engage with each other in a common cause helps make business dealings thrive. But if you're going to use humor in the workplace, be sure to stay on safe ground. Keep a constant awareness of how public your setting is. Additionally, always remember your audience. The less edgy your laugh moment is, the more likely it will be to lead to positive results. Take the safe road. Use humor wisely at work.

Looking for safe humor you can use in your professional life? Get a thought of the day to add some safe, funny spice. You can also display a displayable thought of the day on your blog or web site.

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