Let the Good Times Roll: Building a Fun Culture

An article from the Harvard Management Update explores the use of humor in building a strong culture at work.  The article, Let the Good Times Roll: Building a Fun Culture by David Stauffer explores the value of humor and ways to incorporate it correctly in the workplace.

Some of the key points from the article:

• “Humor and creativity go together, says clinical psychologist Joseph R. Dunn.  ‘In both, you’re looking at variables and seeing new connections.  You’re tying two things together in a new way.’” (page 3)
• “When people share emotions–positive or negative–they become closer.”  So why not bring your team together through the positive emotions of humor, rather than the negative emotions of being over-worked or stressed-out. (page 4)
• “‘Consistent use of appropriate humor makes people want to read and hear what you have to say,’ says former corporate CFO Elaine Riva Schneider.” (page 4)
• “If you believe your work may be somehow too serious for humor, consider Dunn’s observation: ‘Humor is not inconsistent with seriousness.  In fact, most humor is derived from serious situations.’” (page 5)

Source: Let the Good Times Roll: Building a Fun Culture by David Stauffer.  Havard Management Update, October 1999.

Tagged as: community, creativity, humor research, leadership, positivity, team-building

More Humor:

1. Humor in the Workplace: A Communication Challenge
2. Getting Serious About Workplace Humor
3. Building Teams and Relationships with Humor
4. People Trivia: A Fun Team-Building Exercise
5. Uses and Abuses of Humor in the Office