15 Apr
07 Dec
"So, a group of behavioural scientists walk into a bar ..." It sounds like the start of a joke, but in this case, it's not.
Some of those people were gathering to perform sketch comedy, and two of them — Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas — ended up researching the hypothesis that humour is serious business in the workplace.
They say it's vastly underleveraged, and if you decide to tap into your lighter side, it might just lead you to career success.
Dr Aaker says when we laugh with someone, our brains release a "a cocktail of healthy hormones that suppress cortisol and increase dopamine and oxytocin".
"Oxytocin, by the way, is the same hormone that's released during sex and childbirth," she tells RN's This Working Life.
"So having sex, giving birth and laughing with colleagues in a Zoom meeting have a lot in common — we are all building trust and no-one is wearing pants."
Dr Aaker and Ms Bagdonas now teach a course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business about how humour can be a superpower at work.
You just have to know how to use it.
First, let's bust a few myths
As part of their research, Dr Aaker and Ms Bagdonas looked into what holds people back from using humour at work.
They surveyed thousands of executives, and found there's a few myths or misconceptions that get in the way.
The first is the 'born with it' myth.
"It's the idea that people think that humour is a personality trait, not a skill," Ms Bagdonas says.
There's also the 'failure myth' — the fear of a joke falling flat means you don't take the risk.
Ms Bagdonas says the myth that holds people back the most is the 'serious business myth', which is when people think 'humour is the enemy of the serious'.
But their research suggests having a balance of gravity and levity give power to both.
"If you're able to pursue really serious missions that you care about deeply and you're able to do so while staying light, while not taking yourself too seriously, then you will be more successful," Ms Bagdonas says.
And you don't have to be a comedian to bring banter into the workplace, adds Dr Aaker.
It's not just about cracking jokes — it's about creating a culture of lightness and ease.
Truth and surprise
Humour can be tricky to get right in the workplace, but Ms Bagdonas says as long as it's not inappropriate, it's worth a shot.
It can help to know what's at the core of humour.
"All humour stems from truth and misdirection," Ms Bagdonas says.
"First, we've got truth at the heart of comedy, so we often laugh because we think 'I do that' or 'I've seen people do that', or 'That actually resonates with my experience of the world'.
"And then the second is surprise. We often laugh because we are led in one direction and then it's revealed that we are actually going in a totally separate direction."
An example of this could be if someone arrives late to a dinner party.
"Halfway through the first course and they walk in and say, 'I'm so sorry I'm late, I didn't want to come'," Ms Bagdonas says.
"We've all been there, we've all been on our couches thinking, 'Oh man, I'm going to be late but I really don't want to go'.
"We're expecting, 'Sorry I'm late, there was traffic', 'Sorry I'm late, the Zoom link didn't work'."
And that's where misdirection comes into play.
Humour can also help colleagues bond, and it can be a great outlet for people working in high-stress environments.
"We talk to emergency room doctors who have been through incredibly difficult times, and afterwards they are laughing with each other behind the scenes," Ms Bagdonas says.
"It's not because they don't take their work seriously, it's actually the opposite.
"It's that they take their work so seriously that they need to find ways to cope and ways to help their bodies and their minds be resilient through what they are doing."
Ms Bagdonas says it can also help people remember what you have to say, because dopamine is connected to memory and information retention.
"If someone is laughing while they are listening to you, then they are actually retaining more of what you're saying," she says.
"So this is not just a way to have more fun while we're presenting or while we are at work, it's also a really powerful way to have people remember what we've said."
What's your humour type?
Dr Aaker says there are four different styles of humour — stand-up, sweethearts, sniper and magnets.
"The stand-ups, that's basically these individuals who are natural entertainers who aren't afraid to ruffle a few feathers to get a laugh," she says.
"They might be more extroverted, and they may not be able to read the room necessarily."
Magnets are charismatic. They keep things positive, warm and uplifting, and avoid controversial or upsetting humour.
"They radiate charisma. They oftentimes can really read the room and be aware of how they are humour is landing," Dr Aaker adds.
Then there's snipers, who tend to be edgy and sarcastic.
"They are unafraid to cross lines in pursuit of a laugh. Sometimes they are hard to make laugh but when you do, you feel really good," Dr Aaker says.
The sweethearts are more earnest and honest, and avoid humour that might risk hurting feelings.
"Their humour often flies under the radar and sometimes is even planned, but it often uplifts," Dr Aaker says.
Understanding these types — not just what you are but what your colleagues are — can make it easier and less risky to get a laugh at work.
Different jokes for different folks
Depending on the context, you might tap into different styles of humour.
"We find that sniper and stand-up type humour can be power-enhancing if you're lower in status, but magnet and sweetheart style humour can be power-enhancing if you are higher in status," Ms Bagdonas says.
When Ms Bagdonas is teaching a classroom of students, she leans on magnet or sweetheart style humour.
I'm self-deprecating, I'm using humour that's more uplifting," she says.
"But when I am leading a session with a group of executives that is significantly more senior than me — and in a lot of cases significantly more male than me — I will often lean on stand-up and sniper style humour because of the innate power imbalance that exists in age and in other social dimensions that are so hardcoded into our brains.
"This was especially powerful for me when I was earlier in my career, when I was in my late 20s and I was leading these sessions, I found actually a well-placed jab or a little bit of teasing could actually go a really long way and help me."
But using humour at work won't always land well with everyone. Keep cultural considerations and power imbalances in mind, and don't force it.
If your humour falls flat, the best thing you can do is acknowledge it.
"Name it. Say 'I just realised, I think that was inappropriate, I'm really sorry'," Ms Bagdonas says.
"In this situation when our humour fails or offends, it can be really tempting to brush it off by saying 'I was just joking', or 'He didn't get the joke' or 'She is being too sensitive', instead of stopping and considering that it might actually be our problem."
She adds that it's important to trust the other person's reaction in order to be able to understand your mistake.
"It's in these moments where we cross a line and offend that we can really understand and make sure that we are calibrated for humour to work well in the future," Ms Bagdonas says.
And considering the average person spends more than a third of their life at work, we have plenty of time to learn to embrace humour while we're there.
Tapping into it might just lead you to improved relationships and greater success.