In the current societal and workplace landscape marked by burnout and change fatigue, there is a pressing need for levity to counterbalance the seriousness of these challenges. Many employees struggle to integrate humor into their workdays, often feeling constrained by a belief that work must be a somber and joyless endeavor. However, incorporating lightheartedness is crucial for preventing burnout and promoting workplace wellness. With an alarming 62% of employees reporting burnout by 2023 and the World Health Organization formally recognizing burnout as a medical diagnosis, the importance of laughter in the workplace cannot be overstated.
Laughter not only contributes to mental and physical well-being but also plays a significant role in career satisfaction and job effectiveness. Embracing humor can counter negative self-talk, neutralize worry, disappointment, and loss, and contribute to improved mental and physical health. Additionally, it helps alleviate stress and burnout, ultimately benefiting a company's bottom line.
By fostering a work culture that values humor, amusement, and lightheartedness, organizations can enhance job satisfaction and effectively address the pervasive issue of burnout. Laughter serves as a powerful antidote to the toll of chronic workplace stress, providing employees with a means to navigate challenges and maintain their well-being.
Research backs up the idea of treating laughter as wellness, not solely just an outlet for entertainment. Scientists say that laughter gives your body some of the same benefits as moderate physical exercise, that laughing—even fake laughing—for just one minute a day dampens stress, eases pain, lowers blood pressure, stokes your immune system, and brightens your mental outlook. Capitalizing on laughter’s natural benefits, laughter yoga is built around forced laughter until it feels real. The science of this yoga is that even if you start with pretend chuckling, your body can’t tell the difference, and momentarily the laughter erases all your worries and relieves your mind of stress. Laughter is a free-form enterprise and simple to do. It helps when you do this exercise with another person because laughter is contagious. Here’s how it works:
- In a standing position, look upward and hold your arms wide apart above your head.
- Start with forced laughing, engaging your shoulders, arms, face, and belly until the laughter starts to feel real.
- Continue for as long as you can, letting it rip: Ahhh-hahaha-whoohoohoo-ha-heeheehee!
- After a few minutes of hearty belly laughing, see if you don’t notice an instant lift from the exercise. You might feel silly, but don’t let your mind keep you from feeling good. Do it anyway. The payoff is worth it.
Next time you can’t get to the gym, try “laughter-case.” The potential for looking at the humorous side of life is all around you. When was the last time you cackled at yourself for a series of incredulous mistakes you made one after another or something silly you have a habit of doing? Learn to laugh at yourself, tell a joke, try to remember funny experiences you’ve had, watch a comedy movie, check out a stand-up comic, and go to a comedy zone near year. Your Rx for a healthy and lengthy career trajectory is one or more big belly laughs per day.