Anecdotal Evidence Suggests Humor has Connection to Employee Performance

I recently came across an interesting paper titled Humor in the Workplace: Anecdotal Evidence Suggests Connection to Employee Performance. The topic of the paper covers both studies and anecdotal evidence regarding the value of humor in increased workplace productivity.  Some highlights include:

• Humor is “one of the soul’s weapons [used] in the fight for self-preservation.” – Viktor Frankl (page 49)
• “Research indicates that humor may increase a person’s ability to cope, persevere, ward off illness, and become more productive.” (page 49)
• “Humor improves productivity. When employees are working on a repetitive job, humor can increase length of time on task by reducing tension and boredom. And studies show humor doesn’t detract from tasks requiring increased concentration” (page 50)
• An Australian industry-wide study of 2,500 employees found that “81 percent … believe a fun working environment would make them more productive; 93 percent said that laughing on the job helps to reduce work-related stress. A further 55 percent said they would take less pay to have more fun at work” (page 50)

Source: Humor in the Workplace: Anecdotal Evidence Suggests Connection to Employee Performance by Lauren Breeze, Adrienne Dawson, and Susanna Khazhinsky. Perspectives in Business, St Edwards University, 2004.

Tagged as: fun, health, humor, productivity, stress, stress-relief

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