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I agree that humor in the workplace can be a very positive reaction to a strssful situation. Mnay times an event can take place that is blown out of porportion and one negative team player can begin to fuel the fire until several have followed the same path of stressfull negative attitude. By carefully finding a humorous approch to a situation you can ususally difuse a situation and a follow up response with positve solutions can be a very affective anidote to a negative stiuation.
nancy,
Laughter in the right setting and not at the level of detriment of others can be motivating. It can not be personal for person to embarrass them. Laughter can reduce stress if used appropriately.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Laughter releases endorphins. sometimes laughter is inappropate but it might be the first thing blerted out when stress is on max overload laughter they say evolves into tears, tears is also a gret realise of tension and stress again releasing endorphins . it also can be a gatway to opening up communication by asking "Why are you laughting"? between tears and laughter you might touch on a deep emontion that is at the root of the problem
Dennis,
Humor is always good as long as it is not at the expense of others
Dr. Gary Carlson
Laughter has always worked for me, to relieve stress.
The more stress I'm under, the funnier I get.
You can make a tough situation easier with laughter.
Even though it's only make believe, laugh clown laugh.
,
Liza
Your approach is right on target. I worked with behaviorally disordered students for years and sometimes when was at its highest laughter usually worked. It is always a good technique to step back for a minute.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Sometimes during the day with a heavy surgery schedule, I can see the tension build up between certain nurses and the stress start to spiral down to everyone on the surgical team. Sometimes for no reason at all I will burst into song and although everyone is busy as heck to get their patient into the OR they all look about and laugh. It is the best source if release in a stressful situation. It keeps the day moving and the dynamic of our team happy and relaxed!
Xiomara,
Our students or children see us as mentors. How we present our true selves to people around us makes a better world for learning. Honesty and integrity comes in many forms of character. Diversity is the fruit of who we are and relate too.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Xiomara,
In our circle of freinds and colleagues it is important to know these are the people who are circles of influence on how we proceed. The ability to share ownership in thought and laughter makes for a very productive opportunity.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Xiomara,
Laughter is a great release for stress. When we are so uptight we can't see the answer. These are called scotomas. Once we are in balance again our thoughts are in a broader field of vision to complete the process.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Hi Nicky,
It's great to have a sense of humor but at times it may not come so natural for all. Sometimes you see vertin people that are always laughing and cracking jokes while others are more quite and reserved. It's important for our kids to see us in that humourous form instead of uptight and serious; it also makes us more down to earth. Our students and kids will find us easier to relate to that way. Thanks.
Linda,
This sounds like a great idea! It would be a great stress reliever and a way to get people that normally do not eat lunch together or mingle to do so at lunch time. Laughing makes us feel so good and as you said "It energizes each of us for the afternoon tasks at hand." Thanks for sharing.
All of us can benefit from laughter at some point during the day - especially when under a stressful situation; one that you just cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel. Recently, I was having a conversation with a colleague regarding the challenges we were having meeting a certain goal. There are 15 people working on this goal and still we could not achieve it. We had tried so many things and nothing was working. Mind you we'd achieved this goal quite a few times before. The entire team was tense and stress out. After a bit of back and forth and still no breakthroughs I just started laughing - uncontrollably....to the point tears were coming out my eyes. My colleague joined right along. It felt so good! Some of the team members came to see what the joke was and my colleague just said I needed a good laugh because nothing else was working. We cannot say that that was the moment that caused a shift but after that laughing frenzy amongst us, things just starting falling into place. Unfortunately we missed the goal by 1 - but the team got to see a lighter side of the management - and realized we are human after all and no matter what you have to laugh!
Nicole,
Studies have shown that laughter actually helps us stay younger and not age as fast. It is important there can be a brighter side to every challenge. I grew up with direction by my parents to always look on the brighter side of events in our life. Now that I am 66 years old and 42 years of working in Education I found they were right.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Laughter is definitely a good way for people to come together and often times its a good way to heal bad situations (eg. a death at work or someone who is having a bad situation that needs assistance). Laughter is one of those things that is often contagious and makes the whole room have a sort of glow to it. If we could have at least one moment of complete laughter a day I think we would all be a little more destressed!
Nicky,
Good for you having a good laugh makes you live longer. A good sense of humor makes people motivated to perform when it is in good taste.
Dr. Gary Carlson
Laughter is the best remedy. i use humor in all my teaching it keeps all students engaged because they are waiting for the next time i crack a joke and i use humor in my home life as well. my wife and i love each others sense of humor with everyday life and our kids are the same way. lead by example.
Over lunch our department gathers around the cubes we all work in and laugh and unwind together. We do not discuss work or our students, but we share ourselves and current events in our lives. The time is always full of laughter and friendly teasing. Jokes and funny stories are shared. We all look forward to it and it is total fun. Other instructors walking by or within earshot are always commenting on how much fun we are having. We invite them all to join us for lunch and we will squeeze in anyone wishing to laugh through lunch. It energizes each of us for the afternoon tasks at hand. Our cube lunch room overfloweth with humor and friends from one day to the next. Laughter gets me through a tough day.
Ezer,
Laughter is the cure for many stresses. It has been reported that a good belly laugh can add years to your life
Dr. Gary Carlson