In All Seriousness.
Leaders that are effective long-term know how to drum up morale and feed motivation in the workplace. But how do they do it? As it turns out, letting your sense of humor show at work may be one of the most effective ways for leaders to incorporate the fun factor needed for motivation and morale.
In fact, “...humor by leaders/supervisors has been shown to reduce withdrawal behaviors, and increase subordinate job satisfaction and commitment” as well as “securing power and reducing social distance between supervisors and subordinates,'' (Mesmer-Magnus, Glew & Viswesvaran, 2012).
Incorporating a bit of fun during the daily grind of work allows not only for social cohesion, but reduces the “threatening” persona of the supervisor.
In short, humor humanizes the supervisor to the subordinate.
Note: The type of humor is important, as not all humor is appropriate in all atmospheres. The military has a very distinct sense of humor as compared to retail workers, fast food workers, or school teachers.
Working in a place where you fear laughing because your supervisor might hear about it and ask why you’re not doing your job is miserable. The irony is that teaching kids of all ages is actually a lot of fun. If you’re doing what you love, it should be enjoyable enough to have a good laugh now and again.
No sense of cohesion coupled with an ever-increasing social distance between supervisor and subordinate can degrade your morale and motivation over time.
We know this from experience working for a string of similar administrators. Unfortunately, it can make good teachers leave the profession altogether.
What’s worse, the same dynamic between principals and teachers often replicates itself in the classroom between the teachers and the students. Students who fear laughing in front of and with their teachers risk losing a love of learning forever.
-The Penguins
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