LOL: Office Humor

Twenty years of peer-reviewed research shows that there are positive effects of humor in the office. By incorporating a little humor and laughter into your practice improves office morale, productivity and patient relations. A little humor each day can go along way when insurance hassles, declining pay, more patients, staff conflicts, and tragedies experienced by patients can easily turn a good morning into a bad day.  According to Chris Robert, PhD, “People are more likely to be satisfied with their job and less likely to burn out, which is a particular problem in the medical profession.”

Clean, light, well-timed jokes and remarks can lighten the office atmosphere.  Sharing funny stories about your children, giving humorous asides and telling ‘dumb’ jokes are good examples of light humor. However, humor that is at the expense of others or targets others based on race, religion, politics, sexuality, etc. can be offensive, extremely inappropriate and could have bad consequences.  

Laugh with your patients.  Even in small doses, a physician can use humor to ease the mind of a nervous patient. It is even better if the patient initiates the humor and the staff laughs because it tells the patient that he/she is being listened to.

To read more on the Do’s and Don'ts of office humor, visit amednews.