No humour at workplace affects job satisfaction

Sydney: Having a good laugh at the workplace contributes to high levels of job satisfaction, according to a latest study.

Swinburne University of Technology psychologist Maren Rawlings found that individuals who use, and are surrounded by, positive humour in the workplace had higher levels of job satisfaction than those who don't.

Rawlings surveyed 300 workers from 20 countries about their individual use of humour in the workplace, and how they perceived the humour used by their colleagues.

"I found that the more positive the humour climate was in a workplace, the greater the job satisfaction of employees," said Rawlings.

"In fact, personality and mood, combined with humour use, explained over 40 percent of workers' job satisfaction."

According to Rawlings, previous research has also found a strong correlation between a worker's job satisfaction and productivity level.

Her findings contradict a common misconception that people who enjoy themselves and make jokes in the workplace are not as productive, reports Sciencealert.

"People bemoan that there is no time for humour, and that being humorous is not appreciated," she said.

Just as positive humour was found to increase job satisfaction, Rawlings' also showed that no humour or negative humour decreased levels of job satisfaction in employees.