Are You Part of a No Fun League?

I thought this article in my local paper was very interesting about how the National Football League, an enterprise based on a game people play, is taking action to remove some of the fun from celebratory moments.

http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Rule-to-ban-dunking-marks-return-of-the-No-Fun-5352362.php

My response, not surprisingly, is Really? In truth, I believe that we should invest more time in celebrating accomplishments and if those celebrations include something that is fun and exuberant; I mean, how often do we give ourselves over to a moment of unbridled enthusiasm in any event?

So if someone at your organization wants to dunk a completed report over an imaginary goalpost, or get a sis-boom-bah, or just offer up some high fives, tips of the hat, thumbs ups, or whatever your corporate culture goes for, then there's nothing to it but to do it.

Analysis of Positive Humor in the Workplace (Me - It's a good thing!)

I'll skip right to the findings, and I quote: "Results suggest employee humor is associated with enhanced work performance, workgroup cohesion, health, and coping effectiveness, as well as decreased burnout, stress, and work withdrawal. Supervisor use of humor is associated with enhanced subordinate performance, satisfaction, perception of supervisor performance, satisfaction with supervisor, and workgroup cohesion, as well as reduced work withdrawal.

Citation: Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol 27., No. 2, 2012, pp 155-190.

Effective Office Humor: Wall Street Journal article

Found this article published in the Wall Street Journal titled "Secrets of Effective Office Humor."

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324085304579008554174349982

Here is an interesting paragraph that points to potential benefits of humor:

Employers like to hire people with a sense of humor, research shows. And mixing laughter and fun into a company culture can attract skilled workers, according to a study last year in the journal Human Relations. A 2011 study at Pennsylvania State University found that a good laugh activates the same regions of the brain that light up over a fat bonus check.

The article is good about pointing out some of the challenges of using humor, both in delivery and how it is received.

And it provides a fun activity - Jargon Day.

"The best office humor brings people together, often through shared pranks or inside jokes, Mr. Tarvin says. For nearly three years, employees at Silver Lining Ltd. held monthly "corporate jargon days" when they tried to use as much vague, bureaucratic language as possible, says Carissa Reiniger, founder and chief executive of the New York City-based small-business management consulting firm. The goal: to goad the group to break the buzzword habit!

And this makes me think of Buzzword Bingo which gets at the same idea of using less jargon and clearer language.

http://www.businessbuzzwordbingo.com/

Rock 'em, sock'em :)

Daylight Saving Time: Where do you store your daylight?

Daylight Saving Time 2014 begins at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 9. My questions are: Where do you store the daylight that you save? Where do you keep it? When do you use it and how? Can you lend it? Borrow it?

Yeah, I know, pretty darned silly, but that's how I am feeling today at the annual mixed blessing of losing 1 hour of sleep and gaining 1 hour of daylight