Humor in the Workplace: What's OK and What Isn't?

People like to laugh, even when there’s not a lot in life to laugh about. Maybe especially when there’s not a lot in life to laugh about.

Humor in the workplace can be a great thing. Besides the mental and physical health benefits of laughter, humor in the workplace can help with team bonding – even bridging generational gaps.

But as with everything else that happens on the clock, even the funny stuff requires a thoughtful and intentional approach. 

Everyone’s workplace is different, obviously, but the principles of effective workplace humor are pretty constant.

Know your audience

Before you crack that joke, think about who’s going to hear it – or read it, if you’re sharing it through email or your chat platform.

Inside jokes only work if everyone’s in on the joke. Otherwise, you run the risk of alienating those who aren’t. If you happen to let one slip and someone clearly doesn’t get it, explain the context.

Puns and “dad jokes” are usually safe and inoffensive – but even here, be mindful of your team makeup. If English isn’t someone’s first language, puns won’t land the same and those people can feel left out.

Also, keep it short if you’re a manager or leader trying to get a laugh out of subordinates. The longer you go on, the more people get that uncomfortable feeling of having to laugh because you’re the boss. This can have the effect of making you think you’re funnier than you really are, leading to more discomfort down the line.

Read the room

It’s not enough just to know who you’re trying to crack up. You have to take their emotional state into account and adjust accordingly.

For example, if you’ve just made a significant mistake, that’s a lousy time to fire off a lighthearted quip. You’ll come off as taking things too lightly or trying to derail needed correction.

Or, if your company has just been through a round of cuts, people are likely to be on edge. Now’s not the time to say something to a coworker like, “If you go next, can I have your parking spot?”

And if you see someone wince and they’re not laughing at the same time, that’s your cue to stop. You’ve struck a nerve. Not only is it not funny to that person, but it’s also actively hurtful. That might not have been your intention, but result trumps intent every time.

Laugh with, not at

Obviously, stay away from the big workplace taboos: race, age, sex, religion, disability and other areas directly related to federally protected classes. 

Never joke about something that might embarrass your target – like a new employee making a mistake – until they’ve come to see the humor in it too. There’s no such thing as “too soon” for stand-up comics, but they don’t have to work with the targets of their barbs. You do.

A good rule of thumb is that if you haven’t heard them laugh about something they’ve done, you shouldn’t try to joke about it yet. 

(Also, even if the other person can laugh about it, don’t harp on the same story over and over. It’s funny the first time. After that, you’re just picking on the other person.)

Now, can you get away with more when you’re dealing one-on-one with a friend? Absolutely. You can roast your friends a lot harder than you can casual acquaintances – but you still need to read the room. Some days, they might not be up to the wisecracks.

There’s always one safe person to poke fun at, though. If you can laugh at yourself, that shows emotional maturity. If you’re the boss and you can laugh at yourself, that’s a sign your workplace is psychologically safe. Also, telling a funny story on yourself when someone else is feeling embarrassed over a similar situation can defuse the tension and let them know they’re not alone.

Humor is a form of communication, and workplace communications should be respectful. For more on this subject, check out Communicating with Respect in the Workplace

Skip the sarcasm 

Up to now, the principles of workplace humor have run fairly parallel to those of stand-up comedy. But this one is more strictly tailored to what happens at the office.

Not everyone’s wired to understand that while your words are conveying one message, how you present those words is giving the exact opposite meaning. This can be especially true of analytical personalities and non-native English speakers, who can be more likely to take things literally.

Psychologists have also found that for people in committed relationships, using sarcasm too often can make you seem mean or rude to your partner. Granted, work relationships aren’t the same as personal partnerships, but do you really want to come off as rude to people you spend eight hours a day with?

Bottom line: The rules are different for humor in the workplace, but there’s plenty of room inside those boundaries for laughter. 

Keep it clean, keep it light, keep it inclusive and relatable, and you’ll be fine.