North West Tasmania

The Value of Positive Humour in Workplaces A sense of humour is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done. – – President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 -1969) Successful and dynamic organisations encourage appropriate humour as part of the workplace culture. Daryl Peebles recently completed a PhD research study that investigated humour as a positive human attribute, and how it impacts on contemporary workplace management practices.-  This study involved 50 Australian work teams and specifically examined the relationships that exist between humour and the psychological capital attributes of hope, efficacy (confidence), resilience and optimism.-  It then noted the positive impacts these had on worker attitudes and workplace performance. The findings are not surprising. Appropriate humour will enhance most relationships ““ work, social and family ““ which is something we all intrinsically know but can now back up with some empirical evidence. Although the use of humour in workplaces remains a contentious issue in management theory to this day, Daryl, along with others, is proving that if used appropriately it really can help the bottom line. Far from being a frivolous distraction from the job-at-hand, humour can help in sustaining an organisation’s long-term viability and is a strong ally in maintaining workers’ health and well-being. Daryl is keen to share his findings and the wealth of information he has collected from around the world. He does so through an engaging (and, yes humorous) presentation that looks at the psychological, physiological and social benefits of humour and laughter and how these manifest within a work environment through measures such as job satisfaction, staff turnover, discretionary effort and creativity. Daryl’s presentation is educational, enlightening, engaging and entertaining. As Andrew Carnegie once said, There’s little success where there’s little laughter.