Those who thought that kidding around at the workplace isn’t good better get
ready to eat their hats, for a new study has found that a bit of humor at the
workplace really is a good thing. The research has been conducted by Chris
Robert, a University of Missouri-Columbia
researcher.

Robert insists that joking around about things associated with the job has a positive
impact in the workplace.

To
prove this he and collaborator Wan Yan, examined theories on humor and
integrating literature from a wide variety of disciplines. Based on the
research, the two concluded that a little humor enhances creativity, department
cohesiveness and overall performance. "Humor has a significant impact in
organisations. Humour isn’t incompatible with goals of the workplace. It’s not
incompatible with the organisation’s desire to be competitive," Robert said.

"In fact, we argue that humor
is pretty important. It’s not just clowning around and having fun; it has
meaningful impact on cohesiveness in the workplace and communication quality.
The ability to appreciate humour, to laugh and make other people laugh actually
has physiological effects on the body that cause people to become more bonded."

Robert stressed the
international aspect is an important part of the research and said the paper
addresses some of the key cultural differences between US and Asian economic
giants like China and India.

Via Times of India