“They loved your messages. This was evident by the TWO standing ovations you received.”
Educational Service Unit No. 11
The year 2020 will go down as one of the most challenging in history. The pandemic and its subsequent effects have made life much bleaker than any of us would have liked.
With high unemployment rates and mental health issues faced by employees due to the never-ending uncertainty of the pandemic, we’ll do good to find some light at the end of this dark tunnel.
The value of tasteful and appropriate humor at work is impossible to overstate. It defuses tense situations, facilitates communication, fosters creativity and even boosts a company’s bottom line.
Let’s take a look at how humor can change the dynamic of your workplace for the better and lead to employee motivation, engagement and a more productive environment.
Humor at the workplace benefits both the employees and the employers.
A study conducted by the McClellan Center of Research and Innovation found that people with a better sense of humor tend to get more bonuses and promotions. In addition to that, 91% of executives believe that a sense of humor is important for career advancement. According to another survey, 89% of CEOs believe they’d rather hire a person with a sense of humor.
Around 75% of employees are reluctant to leave a workplace if they enjoy a fun working environment and good relationships with other employees. A study also showed that humor translates to higher employee morale, lower absenteeism and lower turnover rates.
No matter where you stand in the office hierarchy, people who use humor at the workplace tend to be less stressed, happier and more productive. Humor has been shown to improve employee morale and retention because employees look forward to coming to work.
In addition to that, a good sense of humor helps employees and managers de-dramatize problems, making them less intimidating and, thus, much easier to solve. It’s a great tension breaker and leads to a progressive, innovative and open company culture. For entry-level employees, humor encourages participation, minimizes conflict and sparks creativity.
Humor is a key ingredient in creative thinking because it lets people play with ideas and develop a new perspective to solve problems. Humor and creativity go hand-in-hand because an easy-going environment where employees feel relaxed fosters innovation and inspiration.
Humor also helps with teamwork, thereby increasing productivity. It creates an environment that encourages interaction and brainstorming, making employees feel like their suggestions are valued.
Are you ready to transform your office into a fun workplace? If you need more help with engaging and motivating your employees, get in touch with professional motivational speaker Steve Gilliland.
The Hall of Fame speaker has created unique virtual experiences to help organizations overcome the challenges of remote working. With his personal anecdotes and humor, Steve has helped countless organizations improve their employee retention rate.
“Your ability to connect with our members via a virtual platform was astonishing!” said Bill Russell from Lake Norman COC.
Check out Steve’s bestselling books and other virtual presentations.
