Opinion: Laughter brings much to the workplace

I always thought this was an idiosyncrasy unique to my family, but current research shows laughter brings a lot more to the workplace than joy!

My first job was teaching at a Catholic girls’ high school in Sacramento. I had to have a sense of humor for that one! I was the youngest, blondest and the only Protestant teacher in the whole school! I also was the drama teacher, so I had an extra burden. At Halloween, I borrowed a uniform from a student and wore it all day. Nobody, not even the other teachers, noticed. During sixth period, a girl raised her hand and asked, “Aren’t you wearing one of our uniforms?” That day was my secret joke. I enjoyed myself all day long knowing that the blue sweater vest, white shirt and pleated skirt weren’t merely a fashion statement. At the faculty meeting after school, I asked if anyone noticed anything different about me. The principal: “Your hair doesn’t look so bright.” She meant, “bleached.”

The school uniform incident taught me a great lesson about humor: Sometimes it can infuse our whole day, and it doesn’t have to be shared with others.

My next humorous lesson came during my textbook sales rep days. Each year, we would go to Florida for 10 days to be trained in the new book list. You might think going to Florida would be a great break, but we sat in meetings for eight hours and had very little time on the beach. The time we did have was uncomfortable, as it was winter and freezing.

Each year, the company put on a “Follies,” which was a combination of amateur hour and skits about our business. For 11 years, I both directed and acted in skits. At the conference, we had nightly rehearsals and brainstorming sessions where we planned the big night. I loved coming up with bits that were reminiscent of “Saturday Night Live,” scrounging up props and uniforms, laughing and meeting other reps. I learned that humor is a great break from stress or boredom. Most importantly, I learned that humor is a wonderful way to build a team. The reps for my publishing company were from all over the United States and Canada. After 10 days of working on the program, we had built relationships, which, in my case, have lasted more than 20 years.

Humor is a great way to cope with the stress of a new job or one that is not going well. Finally, I left the world of publishing to become a headhunter (executive recruiter). I was lousy at it at the beginning. I had been in face-to-face sales for years and now was on the phone with up to 75 cold calls a day. Luckily, I worked with some very funny people and they helped me through the tough times with laughter.

One of the funniest things for us was calling all over the country and hearing the different accents. I remember calling a guy in Texas, only to be told that he was at “the mawl.” “What’s a mawl?”

“He’s at the mawl shopping for his dotter’s weddin’.”

The most humorous were the calls in my home state of California. It was as though every receptionist was a valley girl: “Like he’s not here? He’s in Big Bear at a retreat? He will, like be back after he, like finds himself?” Note all the question marks at the ends of sentences! My boss would say, “So, like, did you, like, get any job orders today?”

Releasing those feel-good endorphins when I was under stress helped my attitude. I can’t say it was all laughter, but in my second year I was in the top 10!

Humor can even work wonders in the toughest of times. My husband and I were in the Northridge earthquake in 1994. It was, and is, one of the few times in my life when I thought, “This is it. I am going to die!” It lasted about 35 seconds, but it seemed to go on forever. As soon as the shaking stopped, we heard alarms, people screaming and it was pitch black. In the darkness, my husband said, “Shake and bake, and I helped!” I laughed.

I knew that we were going to make it. I knew that if my husband could make a little joke, things would eventually return to normal.

Recently, my husband gave me another lesson in humor. I was rehearsing a speech for a Toastmasters contest and I asked rhetorically, “Why do we come out on a Saturday morning?” John pretended to sneeze and muttered, “No life.”

Once again, I laughed. This remark helped me to remember that I shouldn’t take myself so seriously. I am sure I had asked the question very pompously!

About 10 days ago, I took a bad fall coming out of a restaurant. As I lay there on the asphalt, I thought of something my mother would say: “Anything for attention.” I had to laugh.

My mother had a great sense of humor. People have asked how I got into stand-up comedy, and I think part of it was because of my mother’s humor and one-liners. Sometimes, her laughter helped me get over an embarrassing or potentially upsetting situation. In eighth grade, I won first place in chemistry in the science fair. Imagine my horror when the principal called my name: “Will Simaru Stool come to the front please?” My mother thought that was hilarious. That night: “Dinner is ready, Simaru! Come to the dining room, Miss Stool!”

Have you ever had a disaster that you described to others? As you began to tell about your nightmare (“And then I looked down and saw that the heel on my shoe was coming off!”) they began to laugh. As you remonstrated that it wasn’t funny (“Then, my zipper started to split,”), the laughter gets louder and you realize you’ve got a great story!

Look for the laughter. It is there, but it may not be smiling at you … yet.

Sinara Stull O’Donnell is a professional speaker and writer through Springfield-based SinaraSpeaks. She is the author of “Be The Star Of Your Life: Are You Ready For Your Close-Up?” She can be reached at sinaraspeaks@earthlink.com or www.sinaraspeaks.com.[[In-content Ad]]