Is work all serious business? Does humour have a place at the workplace?

The South African Cricket team retreated to the dressing room, battered and bruised at the 5th ODI at the Wanderers against Australia. Australia scored a mammoth 434 runs (an unprecedentedly massive score in ODI format). All the South African bowlers were flayed all over the park. There was huge pressure on the South African batters to chase down a world record score and the shoulders had already dropped. The South African captain, Graeme Smith, was struggling to conjure up ideas to motivate his team. What could he say to lift the spirits of a team who had just borne a brutal onslaught? Series was hanging at 2 wins for each team, making this 5th match a virtual final. They were the home team and the crowd in the stadium had witnessed their team being massacred. They felt the same humiliation that the team was sensing. This was peak workplace pressure. Silent, tensed environment.

In walks Jacques Kallis, the South African all-rounder, and announced that the bowlers did a great job! It was a 450-run-pitch and they restricted Australia to 434. Australia were over 15 runs short!! The entire South African team burst out laughing at this seemingly ridiculous assessment. It lightened the mood in the dressing-room and they sat down to plan their upcoming innings. Jokingly, they set some crazy targets and backed themselves to achieve them. 

The rest…is what history is all about. A charged-up captain, a hungover batsman and an inspired team defeated the mighty Aussies with a never-seen-before performance, scoring 438 runs! A world-record score set in over 50 years of One day cricket history was broken on the same day it was created. This is what redemption looks like. And amidst the din of victory was the seed of that one joke cracked in the dressing room when the pressure was unbearable. 

Humour at workplace, just as in life, is under-appreciated. Humor at the workplace fosters a positive environment, enhancing team cohesion and reducing stress. It encourages creativity and open communication, making employees feel more comfortable and engaged. A light-hearted atmosphere can boost morale, leading to increased productivity and job satisfaction. Ultimately, humor helps build stronger relationships and a more enjoyable work culture…and sometimes, it helps a team down-in the dumps create history!

Do you find humor important in your workplace?