I guess you had to be there...
It must be said: online meetings have made workplace humour far more complicated.
I recently found myself chairing a meeting where humorous exchanges ensued but, through no fault of their own, online participants missed the punchline.
I suppose you had to be there...
It is now an all-too-common scenario where witty comments by colleagues are enjoyed by those in the room while those online must suffer the feelings of not being quite in on the joke.
Leaders must be aware of the consequences, which can include employees feeling left out or blaming the audio because of inadequacies in systems that were installed long before COVID times.
And while televisions may have tripled in size, conferencing equipment including microphones capable of amplifying more than two people don't appear to have kept pace.
Facilitating a meeting that involves online participants can be further complicated by the fact that we all complete a myriad of tasks when we should be fully present.
I confess, unless it's a one-on-one discussion, I am tapping away on the laptop just trying to keep pace or catch up.
Humour has always played an important part in leadership and, although it has moved with the times, creating a positive workplace culture has always been at the core of jovial interactions.
Attempts at humour have long formed a part of my leadership toolkit. I emphasise attempts because often they are unsuccessful due to a quirky pattern of thought.
"No one will get it, you are too obscure," I hear my family regularly advise.
In considering the topic, I was surprised to find that there has been significant academic research in this space. Mastering the art of humor in leadership: A toolkit for organizational leaders was a paper authored by Nilupama Wijewardena, Ramanie Samaratunge, Charmine Hartel.
The Conversation succinctly summarised the academic research into Dos and Don'ts.
Do’s:
Get to know employees and develop trusting relationships before using humour with them. This helps to match humour type with employee characteristics.
Regularly weave humour into interactions with employees to bring about desired work outcomes.
Allow employees to respond back with humour.
Dont’s:
Humour is counterproductive in instances where employees' lives are threatened, or in dire or catastrophic situations.
Never use negative humour (such as sarcasm or aggressive humour) that bullies or belittles employees.
Don't aim to be a stand-up comedian at work. Be natural and spontaneous.
And as I had hypothesised, the authors concluded: "Using humor in virtual teams: With the rise of virtual teams, the ability to use humor effectively in an online environment has become increasingly important. We encourage leaders to explore how the humor toolkit can be adapted for virtual environments, perhaps through the use of humorous icebreakers in online meetings or light-hearted messages in team chats."
I can't keep up, but I must overcome my crankiness and understand why it can be "counterproductive".
Humour has always been an essential element of our family life.
However, it was never the telling of a structured joke and delivering the punchline, rather, it has always been about stories underpinned by situations including sadness and politics - they call it observational comedy.
The stories have been noted as black Irish, a term which once defined a core of Irish people with black hair and dark eyes who were thought to have links to the Spanish Armada as far back as the 15th Century.
The extension of this term is comedy, inspiring quirky movies like In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin where humour can be found in odd relationships and even crime.
Banshees would come knocking after the death of a loved one, wailing in suffering and pain - as youngsters our dad told us they would visit if we didn't go to sleep.
Like most forms of comedy, this style of humour has its limits.
The civil war in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles, and movies depicting real-life events like In the Name of the Father were clear examples that trying to be funny in the face of a situation so dire has its limits.
As leaders, we must be careful that we don't give up on humour because of the ever-changing nature of professional relationships and the shift from face-to-face interactions to those online.
Humour continues to have its place, fostering a positive culture and promoting feelings of trust and connection, which are crucial for productivity.
Many workplaces and sites have placed limits on working from home, a hangover post the virus period.
Working from home also has its place, creating a sense of calm including flexibility and work life balance, which remains blurred in modern times, but when overused it diminishes the importance of human interaction to work efficiency.
We don't want our workplaces to make light of serious situations, yet we can use humour to process and overcome challenging times.
As Sister (George) Michael of the hit series Derry Girls said, "If anyone is feeling anxious, worried or maybe you just want a chat, please, please do not come crying to me."