First, I was curious. It is funny what a bored mind will come up with. For those of you that are also curious of the results, you can view them by selecting the following link [Urinal Etiquette Survey Results]. I had hoped to show that those with a more conservative personality would go to stalls or urinals on the right, those with a more liberal personality would take the stalls on the left, and those with a more moderate personality would use the ones in the middle. Unfortunately, all I was able to ascertain was that I stand alone when it comes to my choice of stalls. Sometimes standing apart from the crowd is something to be proud of. I am not sure that is so in this case.
Second, I wanted to demonstrate how we as a society have forgotten how to just laugh. As I have learned over my years of working in stressful situations, having a sense of humor is a must. Not only does it help to keep you loose, but it also helps your team to stay focused. This leads to a more productive, creative, and reactive team.
Theodore Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Seuss, talked about what he called “The Adult Conspiracy”. According to Geisel, adults tended to get bogged down in their day-to-day activities and passed this habit on to their children. The end result was a loss of creativity and the suppression of ideas. As Geisel said:
“[As a child] you saw life through very clear windows. And then what happened? You know what happened. The grownups began to equip you with shutters. You decided that humor was crude and too primitive. You were laughing too loud, too often, and too happily. It was time you learn to laugh with a little more restraint. Your young, unfettered mind, they told you, was taking you on too many wild flights of fancy. It was time your imagination got its feet down on the ground. It was time your version of humor was given a practical realistic base…and the process of destroying your spontaneous laughter was underway.” [New York Times Book Review, 1952].
For Geisel the ability to find amusement in the “ordinary nuts and bolts” of life was the secret for living a full and creative life. “I like nonsense, it wakes up brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope…which enables you to laugh at life’s realities.” [The Importance of Dr. Seuss by Stuart P. Levine, 2001].
In a 2007 study of humor in the workplace, Assistant Professor Chris Robert of the University of Missouri-Columbia’s College of Business, found that many managers attempt to limit humor in the office, but he stated that this was a mistake. His study uncovered that the use of humor and the ability to create humor were associated with intelligence and creativity (two important workplace values). “Jokes or comments are funny because they are linking together two things that you wouldn’t normally link together, or shouldn’t go together. Essentially, that is what creativity is….” He also discovered that there is a link between humor and positive emotions. Positive emotions, he pointed out, lead to better workplace performance and employee retention. [BusinessWeek Online, 11/6/2007].
Leslie Gibson, a corporate training consultant for physicians and hospitals, wrote that humor was essential for good leadership. As she pointed out, “most of the successful and ethical leaders have learned the power of motivation by utilizing humor.” In her article, “Leadership with Laughter”[Urological Nursing, 10/2003], Gibson listed the top 10 reasons for including humor in leadership. . They are:
1. Balance stress levels
2. Motivate staff
3. Energize meetings
4. Increase productivity
5. Stimulate team spirit
6. Improve communication
7. Reduce conflict situations
8. Build self-esteem
9. Perk up newsletters
10. Foster new ideas or products from creativity.
In closing, let me say that I am not advocating you throw out all the work in your office in favor of humor, or that you hire a class clown. As Chris Robert stated, such a person could be distracting to the other employees. Instead, make a concerted effort to cultivate a workplace culture that accepts humor. I believe you will find the results to be no laughing matter (pun intended).