“Your Fired” - Humor in the Workplace
“Your Fired!” On a recent episode of “The Apprentice” Donald Trump fired one of the contestants for hiring a comedian to entertain at a corporate function. The comedian’s humor was inappropriate and embarrassed the team that hired her. Many times you will see a comedian and they are hilarious in the setting that they are in, like a comedy club, but put them in a corporate setting and they are not only inappropriate they are embarrassing. Just like when I would go see a movie with my friends and think it was the funniest movie I had ever seen. Then I rented it to watch with my parents and realized after we were watching it that there were some scenes in it that were too graphic in language or nudity and I was embarrassed not only to be watching it with them, but that I would ever recommend it to my parents in the first place.
Many young professionals entering the workplace, soon after graduating, make the mistake of using humor that is considered offensive and it gets them in trouble. They don’t realize that business today especially in these “politically correct” times, don’t tolerate humor that is of a sexual nature, containing profanity, put-down, racial, religious, or harassing. This type of humor can lead to a lawsuit against the company and the firing of those participating in the humor. Does that mean the humor wasn’t funny? Not necessarily, it just means that someone didn’t find it funny and complained about it. Does that mean humor should not be used in the work place? No! Humor is a very important part of a successful workplace. It just means the humor must be appropriate.
Sharing humor with coworkers can help bring people together, thus enhancing teamwork. At the same time using offensive humor can also dismantle a team. When an employee is embarrassed because of a joke about them they start to feel singled out and can even have their credibility questioned when others don’t take them seriously. Just like when Jon Stuart of The Daily Show and other late night show comedians start ridiculing a politician. After several times over a short period of time that politician starts to lose credibility and thus his or her chance of getting elected or re-elected can be in jeopardy. Other people may start to ridicule that employee and they are no longer an effective part of the team nor do they feel like participating with the team.
When using inappropriate humor you can also offend the customer. This can not only cost you and your company a sale, but also your job. If the customer complains that you offended them your boss or human resources will have no choice but to discipline you. Even if a customer uses questionable humor don’t reciprocate by using the same type of humor. This can only lead to trouble.
So what kind of humor can you use in a professional setting? Self-deprecating humor is safe. Can’t that have the same affect of losing credibility on the person joking about ones self as putting someone else down? Yes, if overdone, but if you use it sparingly you show you have a sense of humor, you don’t take yourself too seriously (a trait people like) and have enough self-confidence that you are strong enough to let the joke be on you.
Find the humor in the situation. It is much safer to find humor about the project you are working on than a person. After-all a project doesn’t have feelings and won’t complain to management or human resources.
Everyone has their own unique sense of humor and at one time or another chances are something you find funny is going to offend someone. It is important to know when to keep your humor to yourself. When I am out with my friends I have a different sense of humor than I do when I am in a professional setting. Subjects I laugh at with my friends wouldn’t get a laugh from me at work. Just as your office may have a dress code it is important for one to have a humor code at the office. For instance you probably wouldn’t come to work in cut-off jeans and a tank top and the same should said about telling an off color joke at the office.
Humor should be inclusive not exclusive. You do not want to appear to laugh at someone; rather you want to laugh with them. There is no room for humor that is discriminatory against others. If you think you are about to say something in the name of humor that may offend, embarrass, or denigrate a fellow employee or customer. STOP!! Far too many people use humor as an excuse to discriminate against a fellow co-worker. If you find yourself using this type of humor remember, the joke maybe on you if a co-worker or customer complains.
The last thing you want to hear because you told a joke is “Your Fired!!”
March 28th, 2006 at 5:07 pm
great post. Loved it.
You’re (not) fired.
Brad Montgomery
April 8th, 2006 at 11:11 pm
[…] In this installment of the humor series, motivational humorist George Gilbert shares with us some tips on how to wisely use humor in the workplace in his article You’re Fired - Humor in the Workplace. If you find this article helpful, please leave a donation for the writer. […]