They Who Laugh, Last!
December, 2000
Paul E. McGhee, PhD

Positive Humor Promotes Team Building

"Teamwork is when other people do your work for you." Dogbert

Any professional race car driver will tell you that the race can be won or lost in the pits. Each member of the pit crew must coordinate their work with the efforts of others, and take the initiative to do whatever it takes to deal with unanticipated problems. Similarly, you need the full participation of everyone on your team for your company to come out ahead. This is especially the case in companies that have shifted in recent years to a more horizontal management structure.

Humor is a powerful tool in building more cohesive groups. And this is important, because cohesive groups work together better in pursuing common goals--especially in situations where there are expectations for high performance. Managers in a variety of work settings who initiate humor have been shown to be more likely to become an integral part of a socially cohesive group.¹ Status differences with other team members are also minimized by humor. So joking or other forms of humor clearly provide an effective way of breaking down barriers if a manager wants to do so.

A successful team must be flexible, and must know how to reduce the tension that results from conflicting ideas about how to deal with a problem. One plan will eventually be seen as being the best solution, and some may be upset that their approach was not adopted. Humor effectively eases this tension and upset and strengthens employee bonds that are threatened by failure of one’s own pet solution.

Teamwork means never having to take all the blame yourself.

A real test of pulling together as a team comes when facing a difficult deadline or other task that requires everyone to work overtime. Paul Malone, a business administration professor, has provided a great example of this in a non-business setting. He tells of an experience he had as a trainee in a U. S. Army Ranger course--a course designed to simulate combat situations.

"Our class . . . had just completed a 60-hour patrol. The patrol had gone poorly. The critiques . . . had been extremely harsh. We were all utterly exhausted and miserable, without sleep for almost three days, and caked with the mud of waste-deep swamps. Our only desire was to rest. To our collective disbelief and anguish, we received the order: ‘Prepare immediately for another patrol.’ Our sullen group moved slowly into the briefing area . . . [where the briefing ranger told a joke that was appropriate to the situation]. Something almost magical occurred. Slowly at first, the bedraggled group of trainees responded into what became a full minute of hilarious laughter. Suddenly, the environment changed; the Ranger became a fellow man, not a torturer; the men who had laughed together became a team (emphasis added) with a revitalized common cause. For at least a while, the exhaustion and discomfort of the group were forgotten."²

Employees in many types of business often have to pull together and work as much overtime as necessary to get the job done--sometimes for weeks. Humor can be used to remotivate people and lift their spirits, helping produce a frame of mind in which people are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

If you are a manager, sharing jokes or other humor with members of the team is a great way to break down barriers, but you must be sure that this joking relationship does not cause you to fail to use your authority in situations where you should. There is evidence that this erodes the respect members of the team have for you.³

The reason for emphasizing "positive" in the title of this article is that negative forms of humor can have just the opposite of the team-strengthening effects discussed here. The best general rule is to always avoid any form of putdown humor in work settings. Even though you know you're only joking, it's just a matter of time before someone is offended. And this immediately begins to disrupt smooth team performance.

[Excerpted from Health, Healing and the Amuse Systsem: Humor as Survival Training, 1999.]

References

1. Duncan, W.J. Perceived humor and social network patterns in a sample of task-oriented groups: A reexamination of prior research. Human Relations, 1984, 37, 895-907.
Blau, P. The Dynamics of Bureaucracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955.

2. Malone, P. Humor: A double-edged tool for today’s managers? Academy of Management Review, 1980, 5, 357-360.

3. Duncan, W.J. & Feisal, J.P. No laughing matter: Patters of Humor in the workplace. Organizational Dynamics, 1989, 17, 18-30.
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