Being Funny is Not Wrong!!!

I recently found another blog post that also talked about humor at the workplace. The author of the blog, Peter Weighsaupt, also noticed that a lot of organizations lack the element of humor in their environment. He explains that humor can often be misinterpreted and sometimes even inappropriate, therefore, it is risky to use humor in a professional space. The biggest consequence concerning this is probably getting yourself fired.

What really stood out to me about this post was how Weighsaupt talked about the benefits of incorporating humor into the workforce and the benefits of this. One sentence that summed up this idea was, “Rather than being some ancillary or superfluous behavior, they argue humor should be taken seriously insofar as it can help navigate our social interactions and profoundly influence our perception of where we fit within a hierarchy” (Weighsaupt, 2017). What the author means is that some benefits of this element would be improvements to social interactions and the image we give off to other people around us. When someone is humorous, this impression makes them look kind, open-minded, and creative.

After reading this blog a couple of more times, I agree with the author on every level. A funny person really does go a long way because they can get along with much more people compared to individuals that might be introverts. It is true that this quality can benefit social interactions since the sole purpose of humor is to lighten the mood and to break the appropriate boundaries.

However, it is hard to identify when to use humor and when not to use humor. When a joke is misinterpreted it can really jeopardize your social standing as well as your career. What I think someone should do before cracking some jokes is to get comfortable with the audience first or be mindful of what one is saying before speaking out loud. Remember it is still a working area, not every one is your friend and not every one will understand the kind of humor one will have.

Work Cited

Weishaupt, Peter. (2017, May 16). No laughing matter: using humor at work [Blogpost]. Retrieved from https://magazine.vunela.com/no-laughing-matter-using-humor-at-work-d1bd64419289