It's time for another round of totally random bit & bites...
An Australian study, "Humor Helps the Boss's Bottom Line," found that in a survey of 2,500 employees, 84% said a fun working environment would make them more productive; 93% said humor at work helps lower stress; 55% said they'd would take less pay to have more fun at work!
Google has an intranet site called "Google Ideas" where employees can pitch ideas and/or submit suggestions for product improvements. Employees weigh in with their opinion on suggested products with a rating system ranging from 0 (Dangerous/Harmful) to 5 (Great idea - make it so!).
A study in the International Journal of Humor Research found that both men and women prefer sarcastic humor when the target is...men!
A study co-authored by Martin Seligman, the author of Learned Optimism, found that humor was the "character strength" most strongly correlated to life satisfaction.
In the 18th century, humor was considered a cardinal virtue, as long as you only poked fun at the pompous, fake or conceited. (Not bad guidelines for the use of humor in today's workplace.)
In a study on workplace communication and influence: The employees or leaders who are deemed to be most influential are those that have good verbal skills combined with excellence listening skills. People with poor listening skills were seen as far less influential, regardless of how good a speaker they were.
Inspiring service: You may have customers that are loyal in their behavior, but not loyal in their attitude. Do you know the difference and why it matters?
Inspiring cultures don't just happen: Southwest Airlines has an elected "Culture Committee" of 96 employees.
Inspiring leadership: Patagonia levies a self-imposed "earth tax" of 1% on sales; 10% on profits.
Inspiring creativity: Today is official "Drink Wine Day!" Cheers everyone.
Mike's Fun at Work Tip
One of my clients has a giant whiteboard hanging in their main office with two lists: Things We Can Control and Things We Can't Control. The list includes some funny items ("Dave's choice in ties") but mostly it's there to remind everyone what people need to focus on and what people need to stop worrying about and learn to just laugh at (such as Dave's ties). They've encouraged employees to also do this at an individual level as a simple way to lower stress levels and improve everyone's focus on what really matters.
Quote of the Week
"Nobody looks stupid when they are
having fun." Amy Poehler
It's a Wacky World
This is what it means to live by your values: A Michigan judge held himself in contempt in his own courtroom and ordered himself to pay a $25 fine after his smartphone disrupted a hearing. (Reminds me of the Wisconsin sheriff I wrote about several years ago who wrote himself an illegal lane change ticket after returning to the office.)
Pre-order "The Humor Advantage" Book and Save!
Mike's latest book,"The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank" is due in March! Order before March 15 and save 25%. To check out the rave reviews and place your order, go to The Humor Advantage
