Abstract
Problem statement: This study is to provide an overview discussion on the issue of humor management of within organizations. Although there are limits to which a work environment can be relaxed through humor or any other device, bonding through humor can be an important device within an organization whereby unity and common purpose are realized. Types of humor in the workplace can include puns, slapstick, jokes and anecdotes and teasing. Humor is also an important device for dealing with change. Approach: The literature review and arguments were conducted to identify the function, importance and influence of humor within organizations. Results: By observing humor and by being sensitive to its implications, rather than dismissing it simply as frivolity, managers can implement changes based on their interpretations of workplace humor. Negatively, humor can be an important device for protecting self-image and one’s social peers within an organization; where managers observe such socialization, they can move to improve staff relations. Spontaneous humor is also a useful training device, for evaluating how well new ideas have been communicated. Humor then can be a spur to initiative and to spontaneous responses. Where a manager wants to engage in pleasantries with employees then, it seems that industrially democratic humor is an important component of such interaction. Humor can be an important factor in industrial democracy and increased productivity. Conclusion: Humor can be an important device for building a tram spirit and for forming a cohesive unit, unanimously concerned with its own survival and profitability.
Highlights
Humor can be very important to the cultivation of an environment in which workers perform their functions efficiently
It can lead to higher levels of productivity than a repressive environment where interaction is very controlled and disciplined
There are limits to which a work environment can be relaxed through humor or any other device
Summary
Humor can be very important to the cultivation of an environment in which workers perform their functions efficiently. It can lead to higher levels of productivity than a repressive environment where interaction is very controlled and disciplined. Work environments are primarily task oriented and their raison d’etre is to realize high levels of output, usually with a view to maximizing profit (Ismail et al, 2009). Employees whose relations are very constrained or who feel overly monitored can shirk or feel intimidated in such a way that productivity falls. On the other hand, joking has to be monitored for the damaging effect it can have on work relations. Often managers do not use humor as a tool for change or see it as a threatening. A number of writers (Crawford, 1994; Romero and Cruthirds, 2006) see humor as under-rated by managers for its relative impact, though there is justification for treating it seriously
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