How to Nurture a Sense of Humor in Your Career

Laugh in the face of fear. Using humor to diffuse tension is a survival skill that was practiced adroitly by members of the medical team on the popular TV series M*A*S*H. Actor Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce is especially memorable for his ability to crack terrific one-liners under pressure. Of course, he also had the benefit of great writers.

This was not true for the real-life Capt. Alfred Haynes, a 33-year veteran with United Airlines. One hour into a flight from Denver to Chicago one July afternoon in 1989, his plane's rear engine exploded, requiring an emergency landing in Sioux City, Iowa.

Haynes was trying to maneuver his DC-10 with 296 passengers aboard safely onto the ground using only the engine thrust. As he did so, he was in contact with an air-traffic controller who advised him that he was cleared to land on any run-way. At that point, Haynes was just hoping he wouldn't end up in a cornfield. So he laughed and said: "You want to be particular and make it a runway?"



When you're able to call forth humor under such dire circumstances, it provides an important emotional outlet, allowing you to retain your sanity. As Abe Lincoln once said (paraphrasing Byron), "I laugh because I must not cry."

• Start your day with a new assumption: "This day will be fun."
• Amuse yourself while you're getting dressed or making breakfast. Wear something colorful or throw together an unusual treat.
• Kibbutz with the doorman, bus driver, cab driver or train conductor. But keep your chatter to three minutes, tops.
• When reading the paper, go to the comics section before tackling the news.
• Share a funny story with the person sitting next to you on the bus or standing behind you in line for coffee.
• Play a comedy tape on your Walkman.
• Make fun of people at the health club for being flabby and out of shape. Then, fall off the treadmill yourself.
• Laugh about your commuting misadventures with the receptionist when you walk into work.
• Pretend to throw your telephone messages in the garbage.
• While planning your workday, look up and smile at the cute photographs of family and friends you have around your office.
• Buy a Joke-a-Day calendar and share the knee-slappers with co-workers.
• When calling people, ask to hear some good news.
• Look for opportunities to laugh in meetings with your customers, clients, co-workers and boss.
• Bring yummy food to work.
• Speaking of food, go someplace new for lunch.
• During boring meetings, look at the participants and think about which actors would play them if this were a television sitcom. Who would win the role of your boss, your secretary, and, most importantly, you?
• Use humor in memos and letters to trusted customers and friends.
• At dinner, review the day's events in an amusing way to your dinner companions.
• Use your imagination whenever possible.

If It Were Fun, They Wouldn't Call It Work Thought-Starter Worksheet

1. When was the last time you really had fun at work?
2. What were you doing?
3. What made the experience fun? The activity? Or the people?
4. If it was the activity, was it an extracurricular event or part of your normal workday?
5. Do you generally enjoy your job activities?
6. Is there anything you can do to make your job duties more interesting?
7. Are you a creative person who enjoys building or making things? Is there a way for you to be more creative at work?
8. Does your job challenge you to grow and learn new things?
9. Are there any projects you can initiate that you'd find particularly interesting and challenging?
10. Who do you most enjoy working with? Be specific.
11. Why do you find them enjoyable?
12. What do your preferences say about you?
13. Would you describe your co-workers as "fun to work with"? What about your customers?
14. Describe your organizational culture.
15. Do you feel that you belong there?
16. Do you have any personal resistance to having more fun at work? Are you afraid, for example, that a more lighthearted approach will make you look unprofessional?
17. Do you believe that having fun with your customers can increase their satisfaction with your company's products and/or services? Why or why not?
18. Do you believe that having fun with your employees can improve team spirit and productivity? Why or why not?
19. Do you view yourself as a fun-loving person?
20. Do you derive more enjoyment from playing with things than with people?
21. Can you think of small ways to introduce more enjoyment into your workday?
22. How do you feel about friendly competition?
23. Do you find that you don't have time to have fun?
24. How much time does fun take?