Humor in the Workplace: When It Helps and When It Hurts
Humor in the workplace can make a leader appear approachable, confident and human. It can reduce tension, create connection and help an audience remember an important message.
But humor is also one of the most audience-dependent forms of communication.
A comment that feels harmless to the person making it may feel uncomfortable, dismissive or inappropriate to someone else. That risk becomes greater when the speaker has more authority than the audience. Employees may laugh because a joke is funny, but they may also laugh because the person telling it is their boss.
Leaders should not avoid humor entirely. They should use it with greater awareness.
The question is not simply, “Is this funny?” It is, “Is this appropriate for this audience, this relationship and this situation?”
That distinction determines whether humor strengthens a leader’s presence or becomes the only thing the audience remembers.
Who among us does not want to be considered funny? Jokes are awesome! They make us laugh and when you’re the person in the room whose got all the best jokes, people love you, right? If you’re the guy in the office whose always cracking jokes in meetings and telling stories across the row of cubicles, you’re the most popular guy in the office. Your co-workers loved that joke about the three-legged horse, and your story about how your crazy Uncle Larry ate all the cranberry sauce last Thanksgiving before remembering that he was allergic to it. Man, they all loved that one! But what happens when you decide to tell that raunchy joke that your buddy told you last week at the bar and no one laughs? Or worse, you told that joke just as your new boss walked up to your desk to introduce herself?
Humor in the workplace is perhaps one of the trickiest social interactions to navigate, particularly in the workplace. While everyone has a sense of humor, people respond to jokes and stories in very different ways. But even beyond just making your coworkers laugh, how you tell a joke and how successfully you tell it can have lasting implications as to how you are viewed around the office.
In a recent study published by the Harvard Business Review researchers found that participants who successfully told a joke to an unfamiliar audience seemed more confident, compelling, and high status. Don’t believe me? Here’s an example.
In 2009 when Dick Costolo was announced as the new COO of Twitter, he tweeted: “First full day as Twitter COO tomorrow. Task #1: undermine CEO, consolidate power.” (The really funny part, Costolo actually became CEO of Twitter the next year).
Assuming that you have not met Dick Costolo in person, what would you say is your initial impression of him? He’s a pretty funny guy, right? But what else would you say, if pressed? How do you picture this incoming COO? He’s probably a pretty confident guy, right? He just tweeted that he was going to undermine his boss, and in your mind you’re probably thinking he’s also competent enough to do exactly what he’s joking about. You’re probably also picturing Costolo as a very approachable, genuine person. He’s funny, so he’s probably very amiable and approachable as a boss too. Is this sounding like the guy you have pictured in your mind? And remember, you’ve never met him!
Humor in the workplace can have a lot of perception power. The Harvard Business Review’s study even found that telling a “bad joke” (i.e. a universally recognized terrible or corny pun) can be beneficial. Think about the last time you heard someone tell a really corny joke. You probably rolled your eyes or even groaned when they said it, but corny jokes can actually make you appear confident as well. Very likely the person telling a terrible joke knows it’s terrible, and they’re telling it anyway in hopes of a drawing some response from you. That in and of itself shows confidence. The study also found that even if these bad jokes fall flat and no ones laughs or has much of a reaction to it, they at least are not likely to make you appear less competent to others.
The trouble with humor in the workplace comes from inappropriate jokes told to unfamiliar audiences. That may seem like a no-brainer, yet I would bet that most of us can think of at least one time that either we or someone we work with told a joke that they probably shouldn’t have. And I’ll also bet that that joke came back to haunt them in some way. Perhaps one of the most famous examples of this is Ketchum VP James Andrews who, while visiting his client FedEx, made the following tweet regarding the city of Memphis.
“True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say ‘I would die if I had to live here!'”
As you can imagine, that humor in the workplace and joke not only damaged Andrews, but strained his company’s relationship with one of its major clients and created a nationally covered embarrassment. Now, I’m not suggesting that any lewd joke or sarcastic remark can cause that kind of corporate incident. Sometimes they even work and your coworkers may think you’re hilarious! The conclusion of the study however, was that with crude jokes there is always the possibility of you being perceived negatively. Even in cases of successfully executed inappropriate jokes (i.e. their audience laughed), there was almost no significant reward in terms of perceived stats or competence.
Think about it this way. You told a dirty joke and it made the five people you told it to laugh. According to the study, that’s all you get. No perceived boost in confidence, or competence, and no perception of higher status. That’s a net gain of zero. However, if the joke is unsuccessful and the people you told the joke to don’t laugh (or worse, give you that awkward fake laugh), you can actually do serious harm to yourself and to your career. Imagine telling a dirty joke to a group of out-of-town coworkers you’ve never met before at an office party and one of them doesn’t laugh. You don’t see them for two years. Now imagine that you’re going to interview for a promotion and you see one of the coworkers seated across the desk from you. His/her only perception of you before you even walk in the room is that one joke you told that they thought was crude and unprofessional. Are you liking your chances of getting the promotion?
Everyone’s corporate culture and coworkers are different, but that’s precisely what makes humor in the workplace inherently risky. We know our friends and we know what they’ll consider funny. But do you know what your boss’s sense of humor is? What about their boss’s sense of humor?
Making people laugh can have a lot of positive impact on your career. The key is just to be smart about how you go about trying to make folks laugh and with humor in the workplace. I don’t mean that prudishly, just practically. Even if the joke you’ve got in your back-pocket is hilarious, there’s no real measurable benefit to telling it at work, and there can be lasting negative effects. My advice? More crazy Uncle Larry stories in the office and save the raunchy ones for the weekends.
Humor in the Workplace: How Leaders Can Use Humor in the Workplace
Humor can be an effective leadership communication tool. It can make a difficult topic feel more approachable, lower tension and create a shared moment with an audience.
But leaders need to recognize that humor changes when authority enters the room.
A colleague can decide not to respond to another colleague’s joke. An employee may not feel they have the same freedom when the joke comes from a manager, executive or client.
That means leaders carry greater responsibility for considering how humor may be received.
Humor in the Workplace: Consider the Content
The safest workplace humor usually comes from shared experiences, common frustrations or the speaker’s own perspective.
Humor in the workplace becomes riskier when another person is the target. Comments about identity, appearance, age, ability, religion, family circumstances or personal experiences can create discomfort even when the speaker does not intend harm.
A leader should also be careful about teasing employees. What feels like an established relationship to the leader may feel different to the person whose performance, compensation or advancement that leader influences.
If the humor depends on embarrassing someone else, it is probably not worth the risk.
Humor in the Workplace: Consider Your Style
Delivery changes how humor is interpreted.
A leader known for warmth may be able to use gentle self-deprecation to become more relatable. A leader who is already perceived as critical may find that sarcasm reinforces the wrong impression.
Tone, facial expression and timing all affect the message. Written humor in the workplace can be especially difficult because the reader cannot hear the intended delivery. A playful comment in person may sound dismissive in an email or chat.
Leaders should consider whether their communication style gives the audience enough context to understand the intention.
Humor in the Workplace: Consider the Situation
A joke that works during an informal team lunch may not work during a performance conversation, organizational announcement or client meeting.
Before using humor, consider:
- How well do I know this audience?
- What is the purpose of this interaction?
- Is there a significant power difference?
- Could the topic be sensitive to someone present?
- Does the humor support the message or distract from it?
- Would I be comfortable if the comment were repeated outside the room?
- Am I using humor to connect, or to avoid a difficult point?
This is where SW&A’s framework of Content, Style and Situation becomes particularly useful. The words, delivery and context must work together.
Humor in the Workplace: Appropriate Humor in the Workplace Builds Connection
Effective workplace humor is usually inclusive. It gives people something to laugh about together without requiring someone to be laughed at.
Leaders can use humor to:
- Acknowledge a shared challenge
- Reduce tension before a difficult discussion
- Make a complex idea more memorable
- Recover from a minor mistake
- Show humility
- Bring energy to a familiar topic
- Create a natural connection with an audience
Humor in the workplace should support the leader’s purpose. If the audience remembers the joke but forgets the message, the humor may have taken over the conversation.
Humor in the Workplace: What to Do When a Joke Does Not Land
Even thoughtful communicators misjudge an audience, the same thing can happen with humor in the workplace.
If a joke falls flat, do not explain why it was supposed to be funny or blame the audience for being too sensitive. Move forward without making the moment larger than it needs to be.
If the comment may have offended or embarrassed someone, acknowledge it directly:
“That comment did not come across the way I intended. I should not have said it, and I apologize.”
A brief, sincere response demonstrates more awareness than becoming defensive.
Humor in the workplace can strengthen connection and credibility when it reflects good judgment. Leaders do not have to become comedians. They simply need to understand that every attempt at humor communicates something about their awareness of the audience.
Humor in the Workplace: How Humor Shapes Leadership Presence
Every time a leader uses humor, the audience learns something about that leader.
They may see confidence, warmth and perspective. They may also see poor judgment, a lack of awareness or an unwillingness to take an important issue seriously.
That is why humor in the workplace is connected to leadership presence. Presence is not only about how someone communicates during formal or high-visibility moments. It is the accumulation of impressions created across everyday interactions.
A passing comment before a meeting, a joke in a team message or a sarcastic response to a difficult question can influence how approachable, credible and trustworthy a leader appears.
The most effective leaders do not use humor to prove that they are funny. They use it intentionally to support the relationship, message or moment.
Humor in the Workplace: Use Humor to Include, Not Separate
Inclusive humor creates a moment the group can share. Exclusive humor divides the room into people who understand the joke and people who do not.
Inside jokes can be particularly risky for leaders. Even when the content is harmless, the exchange may signal that certain employees have greater access or a closer relationship with the person in charge. Someone who does not understand the reference may feel like an outsider.
Leaders should also be thoughtful about humor that depends on organizational status. Joking about a junior employee’s mistake, workload or lack of experience may seem minor to the leader. To the employee, it may feel like public criticism presented in a form they cannot challenge.
A useful test is to consider who benefits from the joke. If the leader gains attention while someone else absorbs the discomfort, the humor is not creating connection.
Humor in the Workplace: Be Careful with Humor During Change
Uncertainty changes how people interpret communication.
During a reorganization, leadership transition, layoff or significant business setback, employees listen closely for clues about what leaders know and how seriously they are taking the situation. Humor that might normally feel reassuring can sound dismissive when people are worried about their roles, teams or future.
This does not mean leaders must become distant or overly formal. Appropriate warmth can reduce tension and make a difficult conversation feel more human.
But the message needs to come first.
A leader should acknowledge the reality of the situation, communicate what is known and demonstrate empathy before attempting to lighten the moment. Humor should never be used to avoid a difficult answer or minimize a legitimate concern.
Humor in the Workplace: Consider Humor Across Cultures and Channels
Humor becomes more complex when leaders communicate across cultures, generations, functions and geographic regions.
A phrase that is familiar in one culture may be confusing or offensive in another. Sarcasm may be interpreted literally. References to television, sports or popular culture may exclude people who do not share the same context.
Virtual communication adds another complication. Email, chat and text remove many of the vocal and visual cues that help an audience recognize playful intent. Emojis and punctuation can provide context, but they cannot guarantee that everyone will interpret the message in the same way.
When the relationship is new, the audience is broad or the topic is sensitive, choose clarity over cleverness.
Humor in the Workplace: Develop a Personal Standard for Workplace Humor
Leaders do not need a list of approved jokes. They need a reliable decision-making process.
Before using humor in the workplace, ask:
- Does this fit the relationship I have with the audience?
- Could someone feel targeted or excluded?
- Is this the right moment for levity?
- Does the humor reinforce or distract from my message?
- Am I comfortable having this comment repeated?
- Would I make the same joke if the roles were reversed?
These questions encourage the same audience awareness that supports every form of effective leadership communication.
Humor can make a leader more relatable, but relatability should not come at the expense of credibility or trust. The best workplace humor feels natural, inclusive and appropriate to the moment. It allows the leader’s personality to come through while showing respect for the people in the room.
Have you had a bad experience with inappropriate jokes in the workplace? Want some terrible puns to use in your next business meeting? Want to learn more about the power of stories in the workplace? SW&A is studying the power of stories in 2017! Head back to Base Camp and join the conversation!