Hiring? Look for great sense of humour

In the last couple of years, global work places have experienced some dramatic changes. Some have been catastrophic, others have been innovative and more human resource managers are finding new ways to improve efficiency at the work places. As a growing entrepreneur or a startup, at some point or the other, hiring the best people is of great importance. So, how does an entrepreneur ensures that she or he hires the right fit into her or his team? One great way is hiring folks with a great sense of human, studies have shown.

For instance, a 2011 report: Study of the effect of positive humour as a variable that reduces stress, relationship of humour with personality and performance variables published in Psychology in Spain, indicates that a great sense of humour has a positive effect on productivity.

According to the report, “the pleasure provided by humour makes it a natural motivating element (an amusing or fun activity is intrinsically motivating). Humour and other positive emotions foster greater mental flexibility (creativity).”

Marissa Levin, Founder and CEO, Successful Culture in an article for inc.com said: “Laughter keeps us focused on tasks.” She quoted psychological scientists, David Cheng and Lu Wang of the University of New South Wales, as saying: “There has been increasing recognition that humor may have a functional impact on important behaviors in the workplace and that exposure to humor may increase the effectiveness of employees.”

According to her, “research proves that people who watched a funny video clip spent twice as long on a tedious task compared to people who watched neutral or positive (but not funny) videos.”

Research has also shown that “one of the emotional consequences of laughter is the reduction of anger, through its beneficial effect on interpersonal tensions and hostility. Humour also plays an important role in human communication, since it permits one to attract public attention, reduces distances, stimulates the memory and cushions the negative impact of problematic messages,” as Gloria Grases Colom and Cristina Trías Alcover of the University of the Balearic Islands, Cristian Sánchez-Curto of the Balearic Islands Dept. of Trade, Industry and Energy and Juan Zárate-Osuna of Ágora Portals International School co-wrote in their research report.

In other words, “laughter is a great natural team-builder,” as Levin puts it. “Humor can also lighten the mood when something goes wrong” and can “convey intelligence and confidence,” she said.

According to her, “laughter improves employee health and reduces sick days,” as it helps “manage depression and anxiety and fight disease.”

So, in hiring your next staff, hire fun people. They will help move your organisation forward.

“It sounds simple but it’s important! Seek out employees that have hobbies and community involvement outside of work,” Levin said.

She also advised that you “set aside time, people, and money for fun.” She added that you “establish your own Good Times Committee (GTC) so that they can plan scavenger hunts, happy hours, holiday parties for non-traditional holidays, major holiday events, and life celebrations.”