April is official Humor Month, so as a timely reminder here are yet a few more reasons to infuse your workplace with scads of humor: 
 

• Humor builds trust: Laughter releases the hormone oxytocin which helps people feel closer to each another. One study found that when participants watched funny blooper reels together they later shared more personal information with strangers sitting next to them than the strangers who watched boring videos.
• Humor improves team performance: A study of more then 50 teams found that the presence of humor in team interactions resulted in better communication and higher team performance both in the moment and over time.
• Humor can make you more respectable: (Except, evidently, Rodney Dangerfield). A study by Wayne Decker found that managers with a good sense of humor were rated by subordinates as 23% more respected, 25% more pleasant to work with, and 17% friendlier.
• Humor facilitates smoother negotiations: A study found that humor (including simply sharing a Dilbert cartoon about negotiations) resulted in a 33% increase in the desired outcome, 31% higher trust, and 16% greater satisfaction with the negotiations.
• Humor squashes stress: Even the anticipation of laughter decreases the stress hormones cortisol (by 39%) and epinephrine (by 70%).

We need humor now more than ever, so why not use April as a launching off point to jump start more fun in your workplace? Create a Fun Squad, start a wacky weekly tradition that gets everyone laughing, or be extra-intentional about injecting more humor into your meetings!