Workplaces seem to have become more serious in the last decades based on my personal observations. Workers are intensely focused on their immediate deadlines. Unfortunately, this does not yield the desired long-term results. Yes, deadlines are real, and those deadlines are getting met. But at what cost? Notice the first 4 letters of the word DEADline.

True story from several years ago. A company was in deep sneakers over its major product – perhaps due a safety recall or something equally dire. So the company assembled a group of their best engineers to solve the problem. This group was laser-focused – they HAD to come up with an idea to save the company! They filled the walls with flipcharts of ideas. Unfortunately, there was not a breakthrough idea in the whole bunch. In desperation, the company brought in the “B team” engineers, and these folks were completely irreverent – making jokes, spouting ridiculous ideas such as “let’s make everything purple”, and not taking anything seriously at all. They also filled the walls with flipcharts. When they were finished, there were several excellent, creative ideas, each of which could (and did) save the company.

The moral of the story: humor is one foundation of creativity. It is also one basis for relationships and social interaction. When there is humor in the workplace, people are more creative and enjoy their work more, leading to higher productivity, lower turnover, and higher profitability.

What would your workplace be like if people lightened up? Do you want to try it yourself for a while and see what happens? I’m the fount of puns and Dad jokes, if you need some… 😊

Let me know what you think. I look forward to your feedback.

Gary