The Occupational Safety and Health Conference in Calgary erupted in applause when workplace safety expert Michael Kerr said during his opening remarks that joy and laughter should be part of the work environment.
According to Kerr, laughter and lighthearted teasing are a remedy for low morale among employees. In his keynote session, he explained that when an organisation encourages happiness, it helps create a workplace that people genuinely enjoy coming to.
“Laughter can ease psychological stress, especially for those working in critical or high-pressure areas,” Kerr said.
He also added that laughter should be included as part of workplace health programmes because it has been proven to calm both the mind and body. For instance, laughing increases oxygen intake, which improves physical wellbeing and reduces stress.
Kerr shared another interesting point:
“Humour is a communication tool that helps employees remember important information better. In fact, research shows that workers are five times more likely to follow instructions when humour is used.”
He ended by reminding the audience,
“And the best part is, laughter is free — it costs nothing.”
Before closing, Kerr challenged the audience to try this approach in their own organisations.
“Just because you are building a safe and healthy workplace doesn’t mean you can’t have fun,” he said with a smile.
Lesson Learned
In the video above is Kamarul, a staff member I appointed as Manager (in the video, he plays a character named Dato’ Bahar, a personality completely opposite from his real self).
He’s a perfect example for this story. Kamarul is a special individual. Appointing him as a Manager to guide and monitor a diverse team has been one of my biggest challenges at my company.
Yet, he runs the team in his own way, casual, funny, and always filled with laughter, unlike most managers I have ever met. It’s rare to find a leader like him, but his approach works wonderfully for our company culture.
So, laugh for good reasons as long as you can. But never laugh at someone’s weaknesses or misfortunes. If you do, it’s only a matter of time before the same kind of misfortune finds its way back to you.