Humor at workplaceHumor at workplace

WORLD’S #1 HEALTH PROBLEMTime magazine's June 6, 1983 cover story called stress

"The Epidemic of the Eighties" and referred to it as our leading health problem; there can be little doubt that the situation has progressively worsened since then. Numerous surveys confirm that adult Americans perceive they are under much more stress than a decade or two ago. A 1996 Prevention magazine survey found that almost 75% feel they have "great stress" one day a week with one out of three indicating they feel this way more than twice a week. In the same 1983 survey only 55% said they felt under great stress on a weekly basis. It has been estimated that 75 - 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems.

www.stress.org/problem.htm

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FINDING HUMOR IN UNPLEASANT SITUATIONS

• Have you ever had one of those days?

• What could cause it?

SO WHY IS HUMOR & LAUGHTER GOOD FOR US!

It allows us to be creative, work harder and be more comfortable.

It decreases isolation. Laugher allows us to bond with other people and ease our loneliness.

It’s contagious. Laughter creates laughter. It’s universal. Everybody can laugh. Human beings are

born with the gift of laughter. It reduces aggression and conflict. It relieves anxiety. One cannot laugh and be afraid

simultaneously. It’s physically impossible. Laughter also shrinks the source and size of your fears.

Above all else, it’s fun. It gives us back our playfulness, a characteristic of all mankind.

Laughter is a natural, physical process which releases pain, physically and emotionally.

www.laughtertherapy.com

BENEFITS OF HUMOR/LAUGHTER

What are the health benefits of humor and laughter?

• Reduce stress

• Lower blood pressure

• Elevate mood

• Boost immune system

• Improve brain functioning

• Protect the heart

• Connect you to others

• Foster instant relaxation

• Make you feel good

http://helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm

Laughter - Still the Best Medicine

Health benefits of humor & laughter

Adults laugh approximately 15 times per day, while children laugh about 400 times a day.

Dr. Stanley Tan, Endocrinologist at California’s Loma Linda University Medical Center states: “All these neuro-hormones act like an orchestra, each instrument makes a particular note. Laughter makes the entire orchestra more melodious or balanced. In other words, laughter brings to all the components of the immune system.”

HUMOR IN THE WORKPLACE

Humor, the joy of jocularity, has benefits that are actually measurable. The University of Southern California has tested subjects both before and after a through laugh session and found that laughing lowers the blood pressure, releases natural pain killers (endorphins), and boosts the immune system. Not bad for having fun!

Some of the correlations on the relaxing power of laughter:

100 laughs = 10 minutes of aerobic benefits from a rowing machine

15 minutes of laughter = relaxing effect of meditation for 8 hours

10 minutes of laughter = relaxing effect of 2 hours sleep

We can see the future of medicine now….”Take two television comedy programs and call me in the morning.”

Humor In The Workplace, Brian and Kelly Craft, Innovative Leader, Vol. 6, No. 5

A TWELVE-STEP METHOD TO FUN

1. Start with yourself.2. Inspire fun in others.3. Create an environment that encourages

fun.4. Celebrate the benefits of fun.5. Eliminate boundaries and obstacles that

inhibit fun.6. Look for the humor in your situations.7. Follow your intuition-Be spontaneous.8. Don’t postpone your fun.9. Make fun inclusive.10. Smile and laugh a lot.11. Become known as “Fun Loving.”12. Put fun into action.

Dave Hemsath & Leslie Yerkes, “301 Ways to Have Fun at Work”

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PUT MORE FUN/HUMOR IN YOUR LIFE?

-CPRS 2005

• 2 different shoes or sox• Air guitar• Any eating contest• Be a kid at heart• Belly flop contest• Bubble blowing• Charades• Comedy night• Comics• Cook funny receipts• Dance funky• Dog park• Doodle• Draw cartoons• Face & finger painting• Food fight• Funny costumes• Funny faces• Funny movies• Funny noses• Funny stickers• Funny/silly pictures (i.e. baby pictures)• Gag gifts• Goodwill-try on funny clothes• Googly eyes

• Juggling• Karaoke• Lip synch• Magic tricks• Mascot• Most embarrassing moment• Nicknames• Paste pictures on different bodies• People watching• Pig Latin• Pillow fight• Pranks• Put on puppet show• Roast• Silly hats• Silly tales & stories• Skits• Slip-n-slide• Smile• Sound effects• Surprise someone• Theme days• Throwing contest (i.e. rubber chicken)• Water fight

HUMOR / LAUGHTER ACTION PLAN What can I do immediately to increase my humor/laughter? Personally? Work? (be specific)

ACTION

What can I do long range to increase my humor/laughter? Personally? Work? (be specific)

ACTION

HUMOR / LAUGHTER IDEAS

HUMOR KIT– Funny pictures (family, friends, goofy ones, etc.)– Collect cartoons (newspaper, magazines, cards, etc.)– Noses (clown, Pinocchio, etc.)– Funny items (Groucho glasses, hates, shirts, etc.)– Noise makers– Posters (3 Stooges, Laurel & Hardey, etc.)– Audio & video tapes (comedy, storytellers, etc.)– Collect and send funny cards & letters– Dress funny days at work or running races– Read funny books “Erma Bombeck”, “Peanuts”, Calvin & Hobbes”, etc.– Collect humorous quotes– Find humorous people to talk to and be with– Try telling funny incidence– Observe life and people for funny situations and examples (i.e shopping mall)– “Lighten Up”

THOUGHTS TO PONDER!

Live is uncertain…eat dessert first!Don’t Postpone Joy!One of the best things people can have up their sleeves is a funny bone.Humorists always sit at the children’s table.The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.You grow up the day you have your first real laugh-at yourself.A playful attitude is best.Without laughter, the spiritual path would be boring.Laughter is free, legal, has no calories, no cholesterol, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients, absolutely safe.Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.Good humor is goodness and wisdom combined.An optimist laughs to forget; a pessimist forgets to laugh.Laughter is the natural sound of childhood.Humor is a fine teaching tool. People learn when they are enjoying themselves.Laughter is the jest medicine.Managing to have a sense of humor makes it a lot easier to manage people.It is more important to have fun than it is to be funny.S/He who laughs, lasts.In prehistoric times, mankind often had only two choices in crisis situations: fight or flee. In modern times, humor offers us a third alternative: fight, flee--or laugh.

Steve Wilson, Eat Dessert First, Advocate Pub.