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Divine Comedy - At Work By Karen Lee
Published with Permission of the Author
aughter is universal, and we, or at least most of us, don't need lessons. Babies gurgle with laughter by about four months of age, sometimes earlier,
evoking laughter in all who hear them. We don't need experts to tell us that laughter reduces tension, clears the mind, and lifts the spirits. Years ago,
Norman Cousins (magazine editor, author, and professor at UCLA) proclaimed that laughter had helped to speed up his recovery from a serious disease.
The study of humor and its effects on the human body is known as
gelotology. In a recent article for the Journal of the American Medical
Association, Dr. William Fry, a well-known gelotologist and professor  at Stanford University, noted that in addition to increasing heart rate and hormone
production, laughter also improves muscle tone and circulation. He stated that indeed, a
good laugh is a kind of workout. It's not exactly a major
calorie burner - you can laugh yourself silly, but not thin - yet it does
help move nutrients and oxygen along to the body's tissues. That might
be one reason why a fit of mirth makes people feel better. But don't
throw away your running shoes, since aerobic guffawing is hard to do.
If you really want to get serious about laughing, there are now at least two
groups to contact. The American Association for Therapeutic Humor can
supply you with bibliographies on various aspects of humor-as-therapy, as
well as a newsletter, Laugh lt Up. The Humor Project provides workshops, courses, and seminars for people who wish to use humor
as a positive force in their work. It also supplies a free information
packet on the positive power of humor as well as a magazine
called Laughing Matters.
You can still laugh it up without joining a group. See a funny movie. Watch a
rerun of Laugh In. Revive your old shaggy dog
stories. Rent a Charlie Chaplin movie. Just avoid the kind of laughing that
causes someone else pain. Merriment is the byword. Remember, "Those
who laugh... Last." (UC Berkeley Wellness Letter August 1992)
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Put up clever signs at your desk. Examples: "God is watching...give
her a good show", "Money isn't everything...but it keeps the kids
close to home" or "Life is like a dog-sled...if you're not the lead
dog the view never changes."
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Frustrated with your computer? Name it! George is acting up again. He
just isn't feeling data well. Suffering the agony of delete? Get a nerf
brick and throw it at the dreaded blue screen.
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Have a positive party funded by negative people. Every time someone in
the office is caught being negative they throw a dollar in a positive pot
and once each calendar quarter the pot is spent on an office
celebration.
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Reward someone for the worst mistake of the week. This will encourage
employees to share and learn from their mistakes.
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Write creative memos. Examples: "Do you want to meet new friends? Do
you like to travel? Need more leisure time? All this can be yours if you
make just one more mistake!
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At the next board meeting, serve ice cream cones or suckers. It's hard to
yell at anyone licking his or her food, and communication improves.
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Make your next frustrating experience into a plot for your favorite
sitcom. Hopefully you will be able to see the comedy rather than the pain,
and the negative feelings will disappear.
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Give out monthly awards for the most creative use of telephone time,
late-to-work excuses, expense account documentation etc.
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Keep a cartoon book near the telephone for relaxed reading the next
time you are put on hold. Tape some cartoons on the pull out drawer of
your desk as well.
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Add finding humor to your "To Do" list. Every time you look at
your priority list for the day you will be reminded to look for humor.
When you have found something humorous, mark it off you list and jot down
what you have found. Your humor diary can be reread any time you need a
belly laugh boost.
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Play with your favorite advertising slogans during tense times.
Example: "Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce...you know deadlines
don't upset us."
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Have fun with your pet peeves. Write letters back to junk mailers with
clever comebacks such as 9 out of 10 doctors want you to get well, the
10th thinks you might have some more money." The fun comes in knowing
they're paying for the postage of the reply.
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Reward employees who create humor that best reflects what is happening
at the office.
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Be playful with mistakes. When your secretary makes a mistake, instead
of screaming, give the document back with a band-aid over the boo boo. Let
them know you tried it and it didn't work.
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Add on humorous items to each meeting agenda. Example: "Would the
ocean be as deep if there weren't so many sponges?" "So...what is
the speed of dark?" or "Why do they call it minutes when the meeting
goes on for hours?"
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Use props to stimulate creativity and productivity. Rubber fish in the
water cooler, bird whistles, wall posters, and the ever popular Groucho
glasses and red clown nose.
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Create a humorous sick leave, bathroom or vacation policy and post it
prominently.
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Have everyone bring in baby or high school graduation pictures. Post
them in the lunch room and give a prize to the one who makes the most
matches.
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Keep a voodoo doll at your desk for those really difficult Maalox
moments.
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Acknowledge accomplishments on the spot, or break the tension with a
one minute kazoo parade around the office.
**bonus tip. If you're working to deadline get some of the special
yellow caution tape and put it on your doorway or cubicle entrance. Draw a
chalk body outline on the floor. If anyone interrupts your flow remind
them politely of what happened to the last person who bothered you!!!
About the Writer: Karen is originally from Denver CO by way of Los
Angeles and San Diego. She is a former housewife with hobbies. After a
miscarriage she learned to write and perform stand-up comedy. From
September 1989 to February of 1997, she published the ground breaking
Laughter Prescription Newsletter dedicated to the healing power of humor.
In her spare time Karen ponders the question, "If life is a banquet,
what am I doing at the Shoney's salad bar?"
More of Karen's work can be found on her "Kosmic Comedy" website.
Click here to see another page by Karen Lee...
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