While a humorless stance to the workplace is one approach to take when dealing with serious issues, it’s often not the most positive way. Even in some of the harshest environments, a little-added humor can help to break up stressful situations, keep spirits light, and still maintain sufficient presence of mind to focus on the task at hand. Never discount what a little humor can do for you.

Here are a few ways that humor in the workplace is a positive thing.

Humor Helps Your Perseverance

Getting through tough situations takes the kind of perseverance that’s not always easy to muster. Digging deep, whether in a war footing on duty or pushing your way through an unpleasant task at the office both benefit from a dose of humor. While it keeps emotions on a more positive note by not dwelling on the unpleasantness of the current situation, it also stops you focusing on the negative. Whether staying productive despite the unpleasant task or when your heart’s not in it, the distraction of humor goes a long way.

Longer Hours Are Easier with Humor

Some projects take time to complete. They can be one-day tasks or require multiple weeks to slog it out until they’re complete. Facing down the challenge of long days requires a fortitude and sometimes a little bit of dark comedy to discover humor in the oddest of situations, which puts a smile on your face. Someone who employs some tasteful humor at an appropriate time is never unpopular. Laughter is good for the soul.

Being Good Humored is a Good Leadership Quality

You don’t have to be the comedian to be a good manager or leader. The stiff, inflexible approach to managing a team that lacks a sense of humor doesn’t make you easy to deal with. When a manager is personable and approachable and can see the funny side to a mistake or error, then that’s easier to deal with than someone who’s a through and through disciplinarian. Learning includes making mistakes and those mistakes being accepted as part of the growth phase for employees moving into new responsibilities is a good way to think about it. Leaders who develop strong teams tend to see their own career grow over time too.

One way that nurses advance their leadership is through the nursing leadership track of a doctor of nursing practice degree at Bradley University. When already working in the healthcare profession, nurses can take the Bradley University Online course structure, which supports degree learning programs with online lectures and access to necessary study notes, without needing to be on campus multiple times a week. Nurses who complete the program can manage a team of nursing staff at a healthcare facility and influence hospital policy.

Career opportunities come in different forms. While academic credentials typically get your foot in the door for the interview, it’s your personality and references that often close the deal. When working in the role, people have to feel that they can trust you and that you’re also approachable too. When you employ some humor appropriately, staff see the human side and most welcome it. It makes life easier for everyone.