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The Power Of Laughter – Lesson 3

Laughter at Work

Laughter at work is a wonderful thing! Everything in moderation, of course, but a little laughter can go a long way in making people more productive and congenial to one another.

When co-workers can take a moment from their duties to smile or laugh together, studies show that it can lead to:

Fewer sick days
Increased sales
Better working environment

Especially when the workload is extremely heavy or the challenges great because of cutbacks, layoffs, or restructuring, laughter can be very beneficial.

When staff members are dealing with great stress due to increased workloads or impending layoffs, a hearty opportunity to laugh and share some funny news can be just the kind of “therapy” the organization needs.

When employees are working back-to-back shifts or hours at a tedious task, employers can sometimes realize better productivity if they have breaks that are interspersed with tea time, laughter and discussion.

Here are some ideas for bringing laughter into your workplace:

Schedule a team luncheon after the end of a stressful project. Reward your team for their efforts and fill the luncheon with funny stories or jokes.

This is not the time to berate other team players or discuss ways to make things better in the office.
Wear a funny hat or costume to get people talking and laughing.

Are you a manager who loves a good joke and likes to be the center of attention?

Give your workers something to laugh about today.

Laughter at Home

Laughing at home is a wonderful way to bring a family closer together.

Usually families are most relaxed at home, and good healthy dose of laughter while sharing the day’s adventures can help relieve stress and dispel any bad feelings among siblings.

Sharing laughter is a way to have something in common with someone we care about.

All families go through periods of stress from time to time, and at those times laughter can be a tremendous stress reliever.

Laughter with your family can be a unifying and therapeutic activity, especially if there has been tension in the relationships.

Forgiveness and a stronger sense of connection are just some of the positive feelings that come from enjoyable laughter with your family.

There are times when you can use laughter to ease the tension in an uncomfortable situation while building family unity, such as:

Your child breaks one of your favorite vases while showing you a new dance step she learned at school today.
Your husband brings home a beautiful gift for your birthday and it’s not your birthday.
Your brother-in-law tries so hard to impress you at dinner by complimenting you on your food that he gets your name completely wrong.

The points listed above suggest that there are more important things in life than petty grievances over broken objects or mispronounced names.

When tension builds because of these issues, nothing can dissipate that tension quicker than a good laugh.

Try these suggestions to bring more laughter into your home:

Keep a joke book in the car. Instead of cursing the traffic, have the kids thumb through the joke book so you can share a good laugh.
Sing karaoke. Turn on your favorite radio station, grab your hairbrush for a microphone (just like when you were a kid!) and sing your heart out.

Let your kids be the judges and give you a score. Add some dance moves from when you were a kid and see the tears roll down their faces from laughing so much.