Unfortunately, even in relatively laid-back offices, the thought of loosening up a notch at any time other than April Fools' Day can seem downright frightening to many bosses.

According to Ron Culberson, a speaker and author who helps organizations incorporate humor, in a recent Fast Company article, that is because of an old-school paradigm that's still affecting today's corporate mentality: "The impression is that if you're having fun at work, you're not working hard enough."

Yet it has been well-documented that humor and laughter can help reduce stress, strengthen morale, build camaraderie and, in general, be a positive influence. Joking on the job also has been known to stimulate creative thinking, prevent burnout, generate loyalty and increase productivity, noted Fast Company.

While employees constantly are required to adapt quickly to change, to work harder and faster, to be more creative and to keep up with the latest information and technologies pertinent to their work — few areas of life are more stressful than the workplace, no? The need for stress relief and creative inspiration are two benefits humor can offer. Research shows that laughter stimulates the immune system, decreases "stress" hormones and increases endorphins.

Sterile all-work-and-no-play corporate environments simply drive people to other diversions — whether Web surfing, playing Solitaire or staring blankly at the computer keyboard while basking in the incandescence of the monitor — to help pass the time. By bringing laughter into the office, a business owner at least can have some control over when and how the entertainment happens.

However, like too much of a good thing, humor can be a negative influence if it makes others feel foolish and resentful about co-workers and even supervisors. In our state of politically correct office banter, jokes must be told with carefulness not to offend. Negative humor allows in-groups to exclude others and can create an environment where humor spills over into harassment and hostility, according to Newswise last month.

According to recent research from Professor Christopher LeGrow of Marshall University, around 70 percent of people polled reported that workplace jokes they'd heard centered around making fun of co-workers based on factors such as age, sexual orientation and even weight, while 40 percent admitted that they themselves had made fun of a co-worker's age or weight. In addition, LeGrow also found that when it comes to workplace humor, just about any subject is fair game. The top 25 most frequently witnessed or used topics directed at co-workers included physical characteristics (rear ends, cleavage, weight, hair, clothing), personality traits (intelligence, arrogance, clumsiness), social characteristics (alcohol use, dating, marital status) and personal hygiene (body odor, bodily functions, bad breath).

As well, work-related characteristics — including attendance, work pace, relationship with the boss and asking stupid questions — often are the subject of scathing remarks.

Oddly enough, however, jokes about politics "seem to be fair game," says the recent report. Most respondents did not consider political jokes to be offensive. Their average age, of course, was 25, which likely had a bearing on their attitudes toward politics. "They have grown up in a time where politics are frequently the butt of comedian's jokes," LeGrow said.

So, then, what to do? Do you hold off on all jokes until after hours? Then you miss out on the workplace-humor benefits. Do you make a potentially insulting quip to only a select few close and "morally flexible" colleagues and hope it doesn't spread outside your little circle? What is behind the balance of offensive-versus-funny office humor? Apparently, it isn't humor itself that is the problem; rather it is the use of humor to convey messages that are in and of themselves offensive.

About.com recently provided a laundry list of "guidelines to remember when you're telling jokes around the office," but we say simply exercise proper judgment: What is the point of the joke, and who is your audience? If you are unsure whether or not it will offend the person or people around you, DON'T SAY IT. Its offensiveness could become a detriment to the office, at which point the company itself could/should step in to remove any discomfort or hostility from the office, i.e., you're stuck going to company-sponsored harassment workshops — if you're lucky — to say nothing of potential lawsuits in this day and age of judicially enforced political correctness.

Otherwise, office humor is unavoidable, even without employees purposefully saying silly things. Really, some of the funniest comments and situations in our daily lives take place in the office. Don't believe me? Here, pull my finger.

*Hey, don't forget to answer the Burning Question of last week's issue of Industrial Market Trends!*

References

Laughing Your Way to Success
by Michelle Dammon Loyalka
Fast Company, April 2006

Lessons From the Humor Police: How to evaluate workplace humor
by Dr. Joni Johnston
Work Relationships

Workplace Humor Not So Funny at Times
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (via Newswise), March 8, 2006

Workplace Humor: How To Reduce Stress With Inoffensive Office Humor
by Elizabeth Scott
About.com