Did you know that laughing burns calories? 10-15 minutes of laughter can burn 10-40 calories, depending on your body type. But it does not stop there. Laughing itself helps to break down cortisol, which is a stress hormone, and thereby helps measurably in reducing stress. In addition, laughing releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which activates the reward center in the brain, as well as the bonding hormone oxytocin.<\/p>\n
Fun fact: Oxytocin is known to also be released during childbirth, breastfeeding and sex, while dopamine is released during sports and causes the so-called \u201crunners high.\u201d So, if we look at our bodily responses, laughing is like meditating, exercising, and having sex \u2013 at the same time! Isn\u2019t that great \u2013 we can save so much time from now on! All jokes aside, laughing has a real and beneficial influence. Enough reason to give it more importance in the workplace.<\/p>\n
The four humor styles<\/strong><\/p>\n Martin et al. (2003) created a taxonomy of 4 different humor styles. They distinguished between humor that is:<\/p>\n The resulting four humor styles:<\/p>\n As you have probably correctly guessed, some forms of humor are more beneficial than others. Affiliative<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Self-enhancing\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>humor\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>are nearly always good to use in the workplace. These styles can lighten up the mood, reduce tension and create a more fun work environment.<\/p>\n Self-destructive humor<\/strong> <\/em>is good if you use it correctly. Showing that you don't take yourself too seriously can be very bonding. However, you should refrain from slagging yourself on competencies and characteristics that are relevant to your work. It may cause your colleagues to perceive you as less competent or self-confident.<\/p>\n Aggressive humor<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>is actually never a good choice. In the long run it can cause conflict, severely decrease the recipients physical and mental well-being and make them avoid the workplace or even leave the organization. If you notice people using aggressive humor, you should bring it up in your team, report to HR or a superior you trust, and an intervention needs to be found.<\/p>\n Humor in online communication \u2013 What to keep in mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n Unlike face-to-face communication, online communication offers more challenges when it comes to the use of humor. Remember that your conversational partner has fewer clues to interpret your messages and humor does not always translate in written communication. With the distinction of the different humor styles, you now have a great tool at hand to reflect on your own and others\u2019 use of humor. We would like to invite you to benefit from the positive effects of humor in the workplace and share more laughs with your colleagues!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Should we use humor in the workplace? There is no ready answer to this...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/learningconnected.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Picture-1.png\")
<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\nWhich humor styles should we use at work?<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/learningconnected.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Letizia-rond-150x150.png\")
\nWritten by: Letizia Grigo<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"