It is often said that laughter is the best medicine. Not only does laughter positively increase the moods and attitudes of individuals, it can have a huge affect on company culture and morale. This is certainly the case for bored or alienated employees, who might not technically be ill, but are sick and tired of their workplace. For this reason, businesses should be incorporating humor into the workplace on a regular basis. However, it is important that this is done in an effective, appropriate way. Here are three effective methods of incorporating humor into the workplace.
1. Put GIFs In Emails
GIFs are a great way to convey humor without having to dedicate a lot of time and energy into it. For example, if you are entering a particularly busy time of the year for your company, then you can always send out an email to the employees that contain a funny GIF of someone who is obviously stressed. This will provide the employees with a bit of humor during a time that is otherwise very serious and stressful.
By including GIFs in an email, it also makes it more likely that the other person will respond faster. Therefore, if there is an urgent email that needs to be responded to right away, then you may want to think about including a GIF.
2. Including Emojis In Subject Lines
When someone receives over 100 emails a day, getting a notification of another email is likely not going to be very exciting. However, when that email subject line shows up and contains emojis in it, it is far more likely to get their attention. In fact, emojis are so good at getting people's attention that they have been shown to improve email open rates by up to 29 percent.
Not only are emojis eye-catching, but they can also be very funny when used in the right circumstances. For instance, rather than sending out some standard communication regarding best practices to avoid getting sick during the upcoming flu season, you could decide to include some emojis such as a face with a thermostat.
3. Write (Tasteful) Jokes Into Training Materials
Although training materials are a very necessary part of a job, they tend to be very lengthy and dry. An employee is much more likely to retain the information if they are presented in incredibly engaging training materials.
Therefore, if employers are able to work in a few jokes throughout the training materials, then it can go a long way and making it a lot more effective. These do not have to be original stand-up comedy level of funny, simply using a few basic jokes found via a quick search will go a long way in getting the employees to be much more engaged during the training process.
While some of these ideas may seem a little cheesy, they still portray a relaxed, humorous spirit to your communications. So even if employees aren’t rolling around on the floor laughing with laughter, incorporating emojis, GIFs, and jokes could be just enough humor to make them smile, chuckle, and be more engaged in the content.
Incorporating humor in these three simple ways will go a long way in creating a much more engaged group of employees, which is beneficial for both them and the company. To get help improving business communications even further, contact us at backstitch today.
