Workplace Humor - Humor in the Workplace

CIO magazines outlines the benefits of workplace humor in their recent article, "Making IT Fun Again". While we've long been huge advocates of the topic, this article presents a good in-depth case study of how one specific company used humor in the workplace to achieve specific morale and productivity gains.

Dave Patzwald, CIO of Schneider Electric N.A., a provider of energy management solutions, understood the benefits that workplace humor can bring: greater productivity, better camaraderie, happier workers. And now is a critical time to make humor a priority, says Stuart Robertshaw, retired psychology professor and author of DrHumor.com. "With the bad economy, people need a reason to look forward to coming to work," he says. "Happy people go the extra mile; they're more creative and ultimately produce better products."

Read the full article at CIO.com. And for further reading on the topic of humor in the workplace, check out these books:

There's No I in Office: 4293 Meaningless Phrases to Keep Your Coworkers Smiling While Avoiding Actual Conversation Contrary to conventional wisdom, the greatest challenge in today's office environment is not how to keep from being stabbed in the back by corporate climbers; it's how to avoid burdensome friendships with well-intentioned but energy-sucking office mates.

	The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance The authors advocate creating a "carrot culture" in which successes are continually celebrated and reinforced. Dozens of recognition techniques include the obvious ("When a top performer is going on a particularly long business trip, upgrade her ticket to business class") to the offbeat ("Hire a celebrity impersonator to leave a congratulatory voice-mail message on an employee's phone").
	Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace Creativity is crucial to business success. But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a "giant hairball"--a tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and systems, all based on what worked in the past--that exercises an inexorable pull into mediocrity. Great for any manager looking for new ways to invigorate employees, and any professional who wants to achieve his or her best, most self-expressive, most creative and fulfilling work.
	101 Funny Employee Awards: Your Complete Guide to Organizing a Humorous, Entertaining, and Rewarding Recognition Ceremony Around every place of business, there comes a time when it’s necessary to give those who toil there a “thank you” that’s bigger than just dental coverage. And that’s where the employee recognition awards ceremony comes in. Just make sure your ceremony isn’t dry and boring by handing out creative and funny certificates. "Funny Employee Awards" includes 101 printable award certificates plus 6 blank award templates for creating your own funny awards. A staple of workplace humor!