If asked today what kind of workplace we want to work in, most of us would, by default, utter the Fun word. Who doesn’t want a workplace that is full of joy, fun, laughter, and happiness? But how many of us can say our workplaces actually have a culture of playfulness, humour and lightheartedness? And why is it that difficult to create this fun, stress-free and playful kind of workplace? Let us try to answer some of these questions and dive a little deeper into the strategies that we can use to create a space where individuals thrive both personally and professionally.

Once there lived a King.
The concept of fun, creativity and playfulness at work isn’t new to the Indian subcontinent. The mention of “Vidushak” is frequent in old Sanskrit scriptures and documents and refers to a clown in the King’s court, who was the voice of reason and would often put across life truths in a manner that was humorous and funny. The Vidushaks were therefore, extremely important and an integral part of the King’s court. Vidushaks gave kings the feedback, and the king took it without any ill feelings or rancour. This allowed the king to revisit various policies without the emotional baggage attached to them.

It is a Child’s Play
In 1996, 11-year-old Richie Stachowski, while surfing with his dad, got thinking about how cool it would be if he could talk underwater. Stachowski started researching underwater acoustics and trying out prototypes in the family pool and the public pool too. Eventually, he came up with the Water Talkie –which enables swimmers to talk with one another underwater from as far as 15 feet away. Next, Stachowski went to New Jersey and pitched his idea to Toys“R”Us. At the end of the interview, he had an order for 50,000 units.

This anecdote helps us understand two things; Big Ideas come when the mind is relaxed and stress-free. and children tend to be more creative than adults. They have more divergent thinking because of the uninhibited manner in which they operate.

We can personally also vouch for the fact that great ideas strike us when we are jogging, in the pool, looking at the sky, staring out the window, and rarely when we are hooked on the laptop screens. Winding down is essential for the brain, and having some fun during the loaded workdays helps release the creative juices and let us perform at our creative best.

Where is the Proof?
The Journal of Managerial Psychology ran a meta-analysis on positive humour in the workplace.

They found that the benefits of using humour at work include:

1. A lighter mood
2. Reduced stress
3. Faster interpersonal bonding
4. A greater sense of belonging at work
5. Better perceived leader performance
6. Overall workplace cohesion
7. Improved mental health
8. Closer relationships
9. Reduced inhibitions
10. More happily resolved disagreements

The “I AM OFFENDED” Generation
A BBC podcast from 2017 titled Offence, Power and Progress highlights the issues such as “Snowflake generation”, and over-sensitive “Woke Millennials”. It goes on to explain how we have seemingly lost the sense of humour and how we live in a world where cancel-culture has become so rampant. It might also have to do with generational traits like self-centeredness, which make it difficult for individuals to consider anything that does not align with their viewpoints or ideas.

But if we try to look at it from a different perspective, this is a time which is meddled with pandemics, global wars, remote working, loneliness and depression on an ever-increasing trajectory, with many of us feeling disconnected like never before. Nothing could make a case for humour at a time like this. The cocktail of emotions that a good laugh with a colleague can create strengthens our emotional bonds in a way that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

Taking humour more seriously
Kelsey Kates, an expert in the neuroscience of how we work, advocates that bringing a bit of playfulness to your work can help cultivate psychological safety, inclusion and belonging, and creativity in the team. Is playfulness all about cracking jokes and playing pranks? Not really. Want to try some quick fixes? Here, I have listed down some for you to try on:

1. Sharing goes a long way: Next time there is a serious business plan meeting or a strategy meeting, start it with an unusual prompt like asking people, “What is your favourite tech hack?” or “Which was the weirdest food they have ever tasted?”. You will see the mood lighten up immediately, and the crowd could have gathered some useful info on the side.
2. Levity – Adding a funny image or gif from one of your favourite sitcoms (Think Homer from Simpsons or Michael from The Office) can really lighten up the mood. However, be ensured to experiment with it during low-stake presentations.
3. Get Musical – Playing some music during lunch hours or a random funny song before or end of meetings goes a long way in heightening the collective energies.

There are a few more broad recommendations talked about in the book “The Humour Code”, which can be employed depending on the organisation’s culture:

• It’s not whether or not you’re funny, it’s what kind of funny you are. Be honest and authentic.
• If you can’t be “ha-ha” funny, at least be “aha!” funny. Cleverness is sometimes good enough.
• Good comedy is a conspiracy. Create an in-group.
• Don’t be afraid to chuckle at yourself. It signals everything is okay.
• Laughter is disarming. Poke fun at the stuff everyone’s worried about.

Tell Me More
While it is all hunky dory to preach and advise, many would venture into the cynical by lanes and question if any organization actually does it. So let’s look at some examples:

Zappos
At Zappos, the online shoe and clothing retailer, core value No. 3 reads, “Create fun and a little weirdness.”

You can witness bosses wearing muscle shirts during tank top Tuesdays or creating rainbow tutus then worn around the office. There’s also a 37-person choir and regularly scheduled Nerf gun wars between departments.

Southwest
Southwest Airlines is famous for its workplace culture. At the centre of their core values, they advocate ’embrace a fun-LUVing attitude’ and ‘not take themselves too seriously’. Employees enjoy annual celebrations such as Spirit Parties, Chili Cook-offs, and the Southwest Rallies. Many passengers have reported the following safety announcement, “In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, put your mask on. If you have a child, put their mask on second. If you have more than one child, then pick the one you love the most.”

The Funny End
Let us take a moment and visualize the best meetings we have had. They are the ones that started with some witty jokes or banter, our favourite colleagues; the ones who we share inside jokes with, and our favourite bosses are the ones who know how to be funny. So why not be the ones to introduce your office to the jokes of Homer Simpson or Micheal Scott in the next strategy meeting, or be the boss, who everyone thinks knows to laugh at him/herself, or the colleague to come to if you need to laugh it out. A line worth remembering from the anthropologist Edward Hall: “If you can learn the humour of a people and really control it, you know that you are also in control of nearly everything else.”