Walking the Fine Line: Humor in the Workplace
by Cameron D. (Cami) Kolb, CPA, CMA, Senior Associate
Posted on December 3, 2024
We’ve all been there: you’re making small water cooler talk while you enter data into the system, and someone cracks a joke that is either the funniest thing you’ve ever heard or falls so flat you want to leave the room out of sheer awkwardness. Humor in the workplace is a fine line, and arguments persist on whether it is beneficial or detrimental to the workday. There are plenty of points to support either side of the argument, but much like with anything, humor is appropriate at the right time and place.
The largest and most easily identifiable benefit of using humor in a work setting is the human connection it helps establish. Not only can it help connect you to your coworkers, but it can improve client relations as well – from our perspective, it shows our clients that we auditors are human, too, not just machines sent to write findings. It creates a sense of relatability between people naturally and can make it easier to discuss tougher topics, such as the findings mentioned above or discussions on an employee’s performance.
Humor in the workplace can help encourage creativity, too. Not only does wisecracking keep your brain active, but it also makes you more comfortable suggesting solutions to problems that may seem outlandish or improbable. Of course, jokes and humor in the workplace are great to fall back on when the going gets tough when everyone needs a smile, and when people are stressed. Sometimes a simple pun or wordplay can help ease the tension and make those rough days more bearable. Even something as silly as seasonal decorations or funny post-it notes on the breakroom fridge can spell the difference between a bad day and an okay or even good one.
Now, while there are many benefits to using humor in the workplace, there are also drawbacks, the biggest and most obvious being the distractions it can cause. People may focus more on jokes and being funny than the task at hand, leading to less efficiency or more errors in work. It can negatively change people’s perceptions of you, and lead to them not taking you seriously, which can spell disaster in a professional setting. Humor can destroy trust as easily as it can build it and can spread negativity and stress where it previously didn’t exist.
As a leader in a workplace, humor must be used delicately; lightly teasing staff you manage can quickly and easily turn into perceived insults, bringing employees down rather than building up relationships. On the flip side, employees may see a manager or leader using humor as an excuse to slack off, to make similar or worse jokes, and to create an environment discouraging collaboration or honest feedback. While that may seem like an extreme example, it is easy to see how these elements can form.
All that said, if you choose to employ humor in the workplace, it is important to do it with tact to maintain your professionalism and credibility. As with any form of communication, knowing your audience is key to successfully using humor. Some audiences may respond to certain jokes differently, so it is important to consider to whom, exactly, you are making jokes. Using jokes in moderation is also important – in the case of making a presentation or relaying information, jokes should enhance the message, not distract from it. The types of jokes and humor should be positive and basic, so they are easily understandable to anyone involved.
Self-deprecation can be one of the easiest types of humor to employ and can create a sense of relatability and humility if done right, but it is best to avoid it if you are not completely confident that you can pull it off. Using this type of humor can undermine your authority and knowledge while staying positive with jokes can exude a confident yet relaxed aura since you can joke without sacrificing your message. An example that comes to mind as an auditor is the exit meeting that we have at the end of each visit. With some clients, we can make jokes about writing extra findings because we didn’t like the brand of water offered to us, or something similarly outrageous. Clearly, this is not serious, and nobody involved believes it is, but it helps lighten the mood and makes us appear more relatable before we dive into our report on the audit thus far.
Finally, when using humor in these types of situations, read the room. If jokes don’t seem to be landing with an audience, either lessen them or eliminate them completely. It keeps everyone involved comfortable and trusting of each other and saves you from making more jokes that don’t land.
I’d like to touch on using humor digitally, as it is one of the easier and more innocent ways to apply humor in the workplace. Now, I’m sure all of us here who’ve used Teams have sent a joke or a GIF to a coworker at some point, but what about communications outside of your organization, like an email or even a presentation? Using humor in emails, like mentioned above, can help humanize you, especially behind a screen, and can be something as innocent as an emoji or a goofy PS after the body of your email.
Michael Kerr, a Canadian Hall of Fame speaker specializing in inspiring workplaces, advises adding what day it is in an email, such as National Talk Like a Pirate Day. It adds a touch of humor and joy that anyone can relate to, without trying too hard or detracting from the original message. Adding an inside joke (when appropriate) with a client or coworker can help ease any tension in a conversation and put both participants on even ground. In presentations, it is easy to place a small meme or funny picture on some slides or tell jokes during the wrap-up, as long as they enhance and do not completely distract. These are especially effective for presentations that are long or scheduled at the end of the day, as they help break up the monotony and bring everyone’s attention back to the matter at hand.
Humor can be a powerful tool in many social settings, and the workplace is no different. If jokes are used tactfully and appeal to everyone, they can help build relationships, ease tension, and inspire creativity. Used incorrectly, however, they can hurt the work environment and reduce trust in an individual. If humor is used, it should enhance a message, be used sparingly, and appeal to everyone involved. Humor can be anything from puns to pictures in presentations to a fun emoji, or anything else you can think of. Hopefully, this article can help you decide whether to tell that groanworthy accounting pun in the office, or whether to keep that meme in your presentation.
