All joking aside. Humor in the workplace can bring significant benefits to the body, the mind, and the organization. The July 2016 Public Management (PM) magazine article “Go Ahead, Laugh!” by author Patrick Malone tells how laughter can make people feel more relaxed, less stressed, and even serve to temporarily relieve pain. Among the benefits to an organization, it’s a morale booster that can build trust between people, as well as positively impact productivity.

Here are ways to help make more laughter happen in our busy work lives:

Learn to think differently. Be willing to be a little extemporaneous in thought and deed.

Search out the funny. When you hear laughter at work, go get involved.

Smile on purpose. Smiling can open the door to fruitful conversations or even disarm a tense moment. It also makes a person approachable. Since it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown, why not?

Don’t be a hater. Author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou once noted that people will not remember what you did or said, but they will remember how you made them feel. This is your responsibility and yours alone.

Build your toolbox. Keep something in your office that will challenge the mind and introduce a funny thought into what may otherwise be a tough day at the office.

Laugh at yourself. Nothing levels the playing field more between a team leader and a team member than the leader’s willingness to laugh at his or herself. Humor, as with leadership, begins and ends with authenticity. Find a way to not take yourself so seriously.

For detailed information on the real value of pairing humor and laughter in the workplace, read “Go Ahead, Laugh!” in the July PM.