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Changing Definitions of Work and Play: Importance of Workplace Humour

Psychological Studies volume 62, pages 12–20 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

World famous actor-comedian Charlie Chaplin once said that “A day without laughter is a day wasted”. But try applying the same quote in our work place, with fluctuating markets, unending competition and impossible deadlines; we may find more wasted days than the rest. All of us know what it feels to experience humour, but most of us think twice before having a hearty laugh at our workplace. What is the barrier which stops us from sharing humour at work? This paper attempts to answer this question and aims to understand the concept of humour at workplace and its importance in today’s context. It aims to review existing literature in this field and present the application of Workplace humour in an organizational context to achieve favourable work-related outcomes. In addition to this, the paper also enumerates the different workplace practices that are directly or indirectly related to humour and provide suggestions to organizations on how to use this powerful tool to bring about organizational effectiveness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, India

    Hima Elizabeth Mathew & V. Vijayalakshmi

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  1. Hima Elizabeth Mathew
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  2. V. Vijayalakshmi
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Correspondence to Hima Elizabeth Mathew.

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Mathew, H.E., Vijayalakshmi, V. Changing Definitions of Work and Play: Importance of Workplace Humour. Psychol Stud 62, 12–20 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-017-0395-9

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Keywords

  • Workplace humour
  • Types of humour
  • Theories of humour
  • Benefits of humour
  • Work-related outcomes