Have fun at work - or better not?
In a series of the American television sitcom "Parks and Recreation", which plays in the green space office of a small town, there is a scene that describes the whole issue of humor in the job.
In this scene, the head of the department, Ron Swanson, comes to his colleague Leslie's desk and wants to tell her something he starts by saying (this part is unfortunately only in English): "Okay, here's the situation. .. ". Whereupon Leslie spontaneously remembers an old rap song: "Oh-kay, here's the situation, my parents went away on a week's vacation ...". A colleague begins to laugh, another colleague bobbles his head, encouraged by it raps Leslie, she knows the whole text by heart. When she finally finishes and asks her boss - who stoically looked at the whole thing without forgiving himself - what he really wanted from her, he explains to her unmoved, "Oh, somebody's burning at Ramsett Park fast as possible. "
Conclusion: Jokes in the workplace are in principle a tricky thing. More specifically, you can step into so many footfalls that the career path gets to the soapy slide. The thing is, humor aside, apart from being funny, almost always has a second level behind it.
Here are the facts
1. Cemented Humor Hierarchies: Anyone who wants to get on the job a little bit laughs better about the bossy jokes of the boss, but does not even make a harmless joke at his expense.
2. Humor in the office is limited: If the sworn-in team erupts with cryptic allusions and nonsensical keywords ("Katzfutter!") Every time anew in roaring laughter, the new colleague is again and again dumb with it; because you do not use the explanation that at the Christmas party three years ago, which was totally crazy anyway, so there, the completely drunk head of department has told of his cat, and there ...
3. Humor in the office is used to live out sexism and to demonstrate its own stupidity ("What are you for an Emanze, all the other big-breasted blondes to whom I said that, the saying was funny!").
4. Humor in the office serves to insult someone in such a way that he can defend himself badly, since everything was "just fun".
5. Humor in the office is used to spit out cost-cutting in the company at lunch talks, with cynical sayings about "the ones up there" who may well have to do without their fourth Ferrari. Which ultimately only leads to the fact that after lunch everyone is even more depressed.
And even if the office is actually cheerful: The new CEO does not like it anyway, when people stand together giggling in the working hours, instead of sitting silently in front of their computers.
There are even humor trainings for companies
Is not it better to be funny at home and with friends? If you can believe Eva Ullmann: by no means. "Shared humor is a sign of familiarity, and if the team does not laugh at each other, something is definitely rotten," says Ullmann, founder of the "German Humor Institute" in Leipzig. The coaching company with its self-deprecating name offers humor and communication training for companies in which teams and supervisors should learn to be a little more humorous with each other and deal with customers. In doing so, says top humorist Ullmann, it's not just about having more fun on and in the job for the individual - as selfless most companies are not then - but about tangible economic benefits: Teams that can laugh together also work better together. A humorous co-worker is more appealing to customers who are supposed to buy something than a sour grudge. If you want to give presentations or teach other people, you can significantly increase their attention span if they make them laugh in the meantime or at least make them smile. Humor makes everything easier, even in the job.
The catch is: Your own humor is very individual and depends on personality, character, intelligence and values. And what can you joke about with a colleague who understands humor completely differently than you do?
"When we talk about more humor in the job, it's not about telling jokes or memorizing quick-witted sayings," says Eva Ullmann. "It's about being taken seriously in the job and still maintaining a serene serenity".
Do you have to laugh at all the jokes of the boss?
The safe bank for the workplace is therefore the "social humor": a little self-irony, if one made a mistake, but without self-deprecating. A cartoon, a little anecdote in PowerPoint presentations. Harmless jokes that do not hurt anyone and make you look bad.Very friendly packaged criticism and conflict management, caliber: "I see you two are arguing right now, should I ever get the boxing gloves?" If a colleague is very annoying because she wants to talk about the same small matter for the hundredth time, she can be "lovingly mirrored" as Eva Ullmann puts it: "You can overdo your behavior and say something like: Yes, I know , you can not talk about that enough, should we do it tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next week again, wait, I'm going to add the dates for the next few months to my calendar. " But always stay friendly and sensitive.
Granted, this kind of humor does not produce a screamer. But it is undoubtedly better than schnauzer, shouting and bad mood.
All the other kinds of humor - deep black remarks, irony, ridicule, sarcasm, personalities, bastards, petty taunts, adult nonsense anecdotes - are, of course, originality and punchline, much funnier. But in professional life, unfortunately, only conditionally recommendable, says Eva Ullmann: "I can do that with my favorite colleagues, I know very well and where I can assess what is below the belt for them, otherwise not." Incidentally, this means that these colleagues not only know the personal waistline, but also pay attention. Because they are nice and funny. Actually almost something like friends.
And who has such colleagues, pulled the big ticket. But you can not expect that.
In contrast, the harmless, nonadherent social workplace humor is, in a sense, the lowest common denominator of humor, but it stands for respectful, friendly dealings with one another. And to contribute to that, you can even laugh about well-intentioned Dilbert cartoons, even if it's just out of courtesy. Or over cocky rap deposits, even if they're out of place.
Because the worst thing is when no one even tries to be in a good mood.
"I used to work in an agency where nobody really ever laughed, except for the bad jokes of the boss, of course," says Eva Ullmann. She thought it was so bad that she quit. And no, even a professional humor training would not have helped there. No joke.
