Three Examples of Humor in the Workplace

1. Cartoon: “Awkward office parties” by Kevin Moore
https://good.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/office-meeting.png
In this cartoon by Kevin Moore epitomizes the sort of toxic work environment that many people are still exposed to. Five employees are present, and one asks, “So where d’ya guys wanna hold the next office party?” One guy at the table screams, “HOOTERS!” and holds up both his hands like a yahoo. The guy next to him says, “Dude! Hooters all the way!” The next guy down says, “I’m already hard.” The person sitting on the end of the table is a female, who raises her hand politely and says, “Um, excuse me...”
The cartoon can be used to diffuse tension in workplaces where the men do not realize that they are acting like buffoons. In many workplace environments, it may still be normative to talk about going to Hooters for the office party and about being “hard.” With women still in the minority of positions of power in organizations, their voices are silenced, drowned out by the men around them. The woman in this cartoon is too polite when she raises her hand. Therefore, the cartoon asks everyone in the workplace to think about changing their behavior.
Cartoon: “Lack of life/work balance,” by Cyanide and Happiness
https://good.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/office-comics.jpg
In this cartoon by Cyanide and Happiness, the person sits at the desk in front of the computer Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Finally, when it is Saturday, the only thing that changes is the window behind him—he is still stuck behind the desk and in front of the computer. This cartoon can be used to reduce the tension related both to being overworked and expected to do work at home, and also to the habits people have of not going outdoors on a sunny day. Many people viewing this cartoon will laugh at themselves if they are prone to staying indoors and surfing the web when it is the weekend.
2. MEMO
TO: ALL EMPLOYEES
FROM; OFFICE MANAGER
RE: BETTER FOOD FOR THE OFFICE KITCHEN
Eating Cheetos and Doritos for the last six months has been wonderful and makes us all feel like we are children again. However, many of us have children who are admonishing us for our eating habits. Little did we know that these kinds of junk foods might not be the best things for our physical health. In fact, it has recently come to my attention that the food in the office is junk. Some of our employees have complained to me personally about the caliber of food in our office.
I am writing this memo to inform you that as your office manager, I would never be as tyrannical as to completely remove Cheetos and Doritos from our pantry. Those who wish to indulge may do so, at your own risk. With recent clearance from the accounting department (thanks, Joalene!) we now have liberated funds to spend on items that are not only healthier but also...upscale!
Bet you didn’t know our office was capable of being trendy, didya? So for your reference, the new items we are introducing this week include Justin’s nut butters and Trader Joe’s snack crackers, plain popcorn for those of you who swing that direction, and an assortment of nuts and dried fruits. I am sending this memo to solicit additional suggestions for improving our work pantry. Oh, and we are finally upgrading our coffee from that nefarious Nespresso machine. We got a real espresso maker, folks!
Sincerly,
Your Trusty Office Manager
3. Anecdote About Micromanagement
You’ve all heard the story about too many cooks spoiling the broth. But have you ever heard the story about the one bad cook who did the same? So get this. Joris is a sous chef in one of our city’s finest French restaurants. You know the one, the one with the cloth tablecloths and the candles lit on every table? Yeah, the one with the great wine list, that’s the one. Well, Joris is a sous chef there, great guy. Probably will open his own place one day. So one of Joris’s jobs is to prepare the soups of the day. Each day they make a stunning array of creative soups: Moroccon chickpea with Tunisan mint, that sort of thing. The soups there are stunning. One of the reasons why the critics love the place!
Enter Jacques. The old chef retires and his son takes over. And what does his son do? He hovers. He’s one of those guys that tastes Joris’s soup and deliberately adds a single sprig of thyme just to be that guy. Joris knows the soup did not need thyme. In fact, when Joris tastes the soup, the soup isn’t as good. But they send it out anyway.
This happens day after day with Jacques as head chef. And you know what happens, within weeks, the Yelp reviews start to change. Used to be five stars, maybe four. Three was a really bad review. Now, almost all the reviews are fours, there are a lot more threes, and you are even seeing the occasional two star review!
The moral of the story is this. When you micromanage your employees, you are undermining everyone. You are hurting the company. Also, “Micromanagement is routinely the top complaint people have about their bosses,” (Noguchi 1). Micromanagement does not make you more powerful. It does not make people like you or respect you. Micromanagement causes employees to perform worse, and your product suffers for it too.
References

Cartoon: “Awkward office parties” by Kevin Moore
https://good.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/office-meeting.png

Cartoon: “Lack of life/work balance,” by Cyanide and Happiness
https://good.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/office-comics.jpg

Noguchi, Yuki. “Is Your Boss Too Controlling? Many Employees Clash With Micromanagers.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2017/07/17/537750774/is-your-boss-too-controlling-many-employees-clash-with-micromanagers