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Mental health   |   The Benefits of Laughing in the Office
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Mental health


THE BENEFITS OF LAUGHING IN THE OFFICE

Research shows it’s good for you and for office culture.
by
 * Betty-Ann Heggie

by
 * Betty-Ann Heggie

November 16, 2018
Daniel Viñé Garcia/Getty Images
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Summary.    Don’t be afraid to laugh out loud in the office. A series of studies
shows the positive impact humor can have in the workplace. For one, it can
reduce stress. “When you start to laugh, it doesn’t just lighten your load
mentally, it actually induces physical changes in...more
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While on an investor tour in Europe, I ended a busy day by joining my boss at a
nice restaurant. After he said something funny, I responded in my typical style
— throwing back my head and letting out hearty, unabashed laughter. People were
taken aback. They turned to stare at me.

I asked my red-faced boss whether my laughter had embarrassed him. “It is pretty
loud,” he muttered under his breath.

Later that evening, I castigated myself. I lay awake, wondering how many other
times my laugh might have caused discomfort in professional situations. Should I
try to mute it? Should I give up my executive position and transfer back to
sales, which had a more jovial atmosphere? Should I find a new job?

By sunrise, I made a decision: I loved to laugh. I’d keep it and my job. I’d
stay true to my authentic self.

It worked out. Now that I was conscious of my laugh, I looked out for what
impact it had. I discovered that it did not impede my advancements. In fact, it
became part of my signature. When I returned from vacations, colleagues told me
they’d missed it.

Our offices had needed a good dose of laughter. And my decision not to rein it
in helped. It was something people looked forward to each day.

It turns out that a series of studies shows the positive impact humor can have
in the office. “According to research from institutions as serious as Wharton,
MIT, and London Business School, every chuckle or guffaw brings with it a host
of business benefits,” writes Alison Beard in the HBR article, “Leading with
Humor.” “Laughter relieves stress and boredom, boosts engagement and well-being,
and spurs not only creativity and collaboration but also analytic precision and
productivity.” Harvard Business School professor Alison Wood Brooks has
also found that cracking jokes at work can make people seem more competent.

What about being on the receiving end of a joke, and laughing heartily? That too
can bring a world of benefits to your employees. “When you start to laugh, it
doesn’t just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in
your body,” the Mayo Clinic explains. It enhances your intake of “oxygen-rich
air,” increasing your brain’s release of endorphins. It “can also stimulate
circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the
physical symptoms of stress.”

The Mayo Clinic even praises a howl like mine. “A rollicking laugh fires up and
then cools down your stress response, and it can increase your heart rate and
blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.”

Given all the research showing that lower stress benefits employees and reduces
absenteeism, the freedom to laugh seems not just good, but necessary at work. A
group of researchers even found that after watching a comedy clip, employees
were 10% more productive than their counterparts.

Of course, there can be downsides to too much humor — or too much laughter. For
example, leaders who tease staff members or tell dirty jokes can pave the way
for other employees to behave badly. And Harvard Business School professor
Rosabeth Moss Kanter notes that numerical minorities in professional situations,
such as a woman with a group of men, may feel pressured to laugh at jokes that
demean the minority. “The price of that kind of acceptance is decreased respect
for everyone in” the minority category, she says.

But within the bounds of decency, laughter on the whole is a good thing, and the
benefits far outweigh the risks.

My advice: Let your laugh fly free. Not all day, every day of course. It’s
always good to be conscious of the volume within your environment, and to avoid
distracting colleagues. But as Harvard Medical School professor Carl Marci
notes, “Laughter is a social signal among humans. It’s like a punctuation mark.”

Sometimes in the midst of a stressful day, it’s helpful to be the exclamation
point.

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Read more on Mental health or related topics Personal productivity and Health
and behavioral science
 * BH
   Betty-Ann Heggie is a corporate director, former senior vice president with
   PotashCorp, and the author of Gender Physics: Unlock the Energy You Never
   Knew You Had to Get the Results You Want.

 * Tweet
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 * Annotate
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New!
HBR Learning
Stress Management Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online
leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Stress
Management. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than
40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
How to build resilience at work.
Start Course
Learn More & See All Courses

Read more on Mental health or related topics Personal productivity and Health
and behavioral science



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