Humor in the workplace can be a two-edged sword. It can build camaraderie or alienate, strengthen morale or offend. It tends to alienate and offend when the jokes are on you. If you're overweight or older, you may be the unwitting brunt of your co-workers' laughter.
More than 70 percent of workers surveyed by Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., said they had witnessed or heard jokes targeted at a co-worker's weight or age, making these two areas the most common topics of workplace jokes. More than 40 percent of the workers admitted they had made fun of co-workers' age or weight.
Negative humor not only makes others feel foolish and resentful about their coworkers and even their supervisors, but also allows in-groups to exclude others and create a hostile environment. In the extreme, humor can even become harassment.
Where is the line drawn between negative and positive humor? Lead study author and psychology professor Christopher LeGrow wanted to find out and studied the content, tone, frequency and offensiveness of humor used to make fun of co-workers by 170 service industry workers. In addition to jokes about coworkers' weight and age, other popular topics were coworkers' sexual orientation, race and religion. "That's a troublesome result," said LeGrow, "because these topics are generally regarded as off-limits areas, and some are protected by law and company policies. Yet there seems to be high incidence of jokes directed at other employees focusing on these topics."
Just about any subject is fair game. The most frequently witnessed or used topics directed at coworkers were:
* Physical characteristics (buttocks, cleavage, weight, hair, clothing)
* Personality traits (intelligence, arrogance, clumsiness)
* Social characteristics (alcohol use, dating, marital status)
* Personal hygiene (body odor, bodily functions, bad breath).
* Work-related characteristics (attendance, work pace, relationship with the boss and asking dumb questions)
Other interesting facts:
* There isn't much workplace humor in death, disabilities, sexual harassment and race.
* The least offensive humor topics are gun ownership, sports teams, tastes in music, television, movies and reading interests.
* There was little difference between what men and women considered offensive, although women were particularly offended by humor directed at their physical features, such as their buttocks, weight, birthmarks or scars and cleavage, as well as personal characteristics, such as marriage, pregnancy and wigs or hairpieces.
Jokes or remarks intended to be humorous are not often received that way, noted LeGrow. When workers are offended or feel threatened by humor, it then becomes a detriment to the office. And that should be a signal to managers to step in to take the sharp edge off humor before the work environment becomes too uncomfortable or hostile for employees.
So what's a funny person to do? You can still tell jokes at work, but make sure they are appropriate. If you have any doubt, don't say the joke. And never direct your jokes at individuals. "Workers recognize that humor can make an office a more pleasant place to work and while acknowledging that humor sometimes can be negative, they still want a workplace atmosphere where people can joke and have a good time," LeGrow said.
The study findings were presented at the annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology in Dallas.
More than 70 percent of workers surveyed by Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., said they had witnessed or heard jokes targeted at a co-worker's weight or age, making these two areas the most common topics of workplace jokes. More than 40 percent of the workers admitted they had made fun of co-workers' age or weight.
Negative humor not only makes others feel foolish and resentful about their coworkers and even their supervisors, but also allows in-groups to exclude others and create a hostile environment. In the extreme, humor can even become harassment.
Where is the line drawn between negative and positive humor? Lead study author and psychology professor Christopher LeGrow wanted to find out and studied the content, tone, frequency and offensiveness of humor used to make fun of co-workers by 170 service industry workers. In addition to jokes about coworkers' weight and age, other popular topics were coworkers' sexual orientation, race and religion. "That's a troublesome result," said LeGrow, "because these topics are generally regarded as off-limits areas, and some are protected by law and company policies. Yet there seems to be high incidence of jokes directed at other employees focusing on these topics."
Just about any subject is fair game. The most frequently witnessed or used topics directed at coworkers were:
* Physical characteristics (buttocks, cleavage, weight, hair, clothing)
* Personality traits (intelligence, arrogance, clumsiness)
* Social characteristics (alcohol use, dating, marital status)
* Personal hygiene (body odor, bodily functions, bad breath).
* Work-related characteristics (attendance, work pace, relationship with the boss and asking dumb questions)
Other interesting facts:
* There isn't much workplace humor in death, disabilities, sexual harassment and race.
* The least offensive humor topics are gun ownership, sports teams, tastes in music, television, movies and reading interests.
* There was little difference between what men and women considered offensive, although women were particularly offended by humor directed at their physical features, such as their buttocks, weight, birthmarks or scars and cleavage, as well as personal characteristics, such as marriage, pregnancy and wigs or hairpieces.
Jokes or remarks intended to be humorous are not often received that way, noted LeGrow. When workers are offended or feel threatened by humor, it then becomes a detriment to the office. And that should be a signal to managers to step in to take the sharp edge off humor before the work environment becomes too uncomfortable or hostile for employees.
So what's a funny person to do? You can still tell jokes at work, but make sure they are appropriate. If you have any doubt, don't say the joke. And never direct your jokes at individuals. "Workers recognize that humor can make an office a more pleasant place to work and while acknowledging that humor sometimes can be negative, they still want a workplace atmosphere where people can joke and have a good time," LeGrow said.
The study findings were presented at the annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology in Dallas.
