At around age 23, something quietly tragic starts to happen to most of us: we stop laughing. According to a Gallup poll of 1.4 million people across 166 countries, the frequency with which we smile or laugh each day starts to plummet in our early twenties. What gives?<\/p>\n
The answer lies in the increasingly complex, high-stakes environments we live and work in. These spaces often feel too unsafe, too \u201cserious,\u201d too grown-up for humor. And so, we begin to show up at work leaving not just our jokes, but a lot of our full selves at home.<\/p>\n
Contrary to what Plato thought (that humor distracted people from important things), it turns out that the loss of levity is actually a loss of something vital.<\/p>\n
Humor makes us feel better (if you needed science to prove that):<\/strong> When we laugh, our bodies release a powerful cocktail of happiness-inducing chemicals:<\/p>\n Humor Makes Leaders More Trustworthy (Even If They\u2019re Not Funny):<\/strong> Multiple studies show that leaders who use humor\u2014even if they\u2019re not particularly good at it\u2014are perceived as more trustworthy and competent. Why? Because employees aren\u2019t looking for mysteriously brilliant, polished figureheads anymore. They want real humans. Leaders who admit to flaws, speak like real people, and can laugh at themselves.<\/p>\n Humor Builds Stronger Teams:<\/strong> Humor doesn\u2019t just help with leadership\u2014it supercharges teams too. In one study of over 50 teams, researchers found that the presence of humor in meetings predicted better communication, stronger problem-solving, and higher overall performance over time.<\/p>\n Humor contributes to creativity:<\/strong> Humor helps people relax. And relaxed people do bolder thinking. They share riskier ideas. They listen better. They trust each other. Want psychological safety? Try laughter.<\/p>\n Ok, I get it \u2013 but I\u2019m nowhere close to being a stand up comic.<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s bust a myth: humor doesn\u2019t mean becoming the office clown or trying to crack jokes 24\/7. It\u2019s helpful to think of humor as more in the realm of levity than comedy.<\/p>\n Levity is about being open to joy and looking for it around us; just greeting the world with an openness to laughter can make a huge difference to how people interact with us. \u201cWhen you walk around on the precipice of a smile, you\u2019ll be surprised how many things you encounter that push you over the edge.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Laughing at what\u2019s funny around us can itself be enough; but if you do want to build the skill of making people laugh, it is one that you can hone. If you\u2019re interested in learning how to do this, check out the book Humor, Seriously<\/em> (by Stanford professors Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas; the quote above is from them). It\u2019s an easy to read (and fun!) guide to the value of humor and how to develop it.<\/p>\n Curious About Your Humor Style?<\/strong> Take the Humor Styles Quiz<\/strong> (Martin, R. A., Puhlik-Doris, P., Larsen, G., Gray, J., & Weir, K. (2003). Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire. Journal of research in personality, 37(1), 48-75.)<\/p>\n You can access it here – https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/humorstyles<\/p>\n Find out how your humor shows up across four different dimensions and if you like, answer some reflective questions to deepen your understanding of the impact of your humor on yourself and others.<\/p>\n Download the file to your computer (sorry, we\u2019re slightly low tech today\u2026ahem\u2026always), first take the quiz without looking at the four styles and then look at your scores.<\/p>\n How to Bring More Humor Into Your Workday<\/strong><\/p>\n So you\u2019re not trying to be a stand-up comic. Great. Here\u2019s what you can try instead:<\/p>\n 1. Bring lightness to the way you communicate<\/strong><\/p>\n Try removing jargon and stuffiness from your mails and write like one human being talking to another (you can ask ChatGPT to help you with that \u263a). Or as the book suggests, try spicing up your subject lines and sign-offs. For example:<\/p>\n \u201cOut of office until the 12th. Yours will be my favorite email to reply to on return. With love (and favoritism),\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 2. Lighten Up Your Meetings<\/strong><\/p>\n Some ideas we\u2019ve tried to good effect at Navgati meetings<\/p>\n 3. Call Back Moments of Shared Laughter<\/strong><\/p>\n This one\u2019s gold. Referring back to a previous funny moment in a group builds trust and makes people feel seen. If something funny happens during a call, make a note. Refer back to it in your follow-up email or the next meeting. It\u2019s a small move with big relational returns.<\/p>\n 4. Don\u2019t Try to Be Funny. Just Look for Reasons to Laugh.<\/strong><\/p>\n Dick Costolo, former Twitter CEO, said it best \u201cThe easiest way to have more humor at work is not to try to be funny\u2014just look for moments to laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n Humor isn\u2019t a performance. It\u2019s an invitation. You don\u2019t need the perfect punchline. Just the willingness to notice the absurdity and beauty around you\u2014and the gumption to share it.<\/p>\n In Conclusion: Humor Is a Leadership Skill. Practice It.<\/strong><\/p>\n The most human leaders are the most memorable ones. Humor can help you connect, inspire, and navigate tough moments with grace. It\u2019s not about being hilarious. It\u2019s about being real, being kind, and being open to joy.<\/p>\n After all, the world could use more lightness. Why not start with you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At around age 23, something quietly tragic starts to happen to most of us: we stop laughing. According to a Gallup poll of 1.4 million people across 166 countries, the frequency with which we smile or laugh each day starts to plummet in our early twenties. What gives? The answer lies in the increasingly complex, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24070,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-23573","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\nWe do all have a sense of humor and understanding what our style is can help us wield it with more intentionality.<\/p>\n\n