50 Times People Spotted Examples Of Sarcasm In The Workplace And Had To Snap A Photo

According to the expert, there are many upsides to bringing humor into the workplace, no matter what the person's position in the company. However, there are some limits that should be adhered to.

"Even in the job interview, hiring managers often want to be assured that the candidate can be relaxed enough to roll with the punches—and possesses some level of levity. It demonstrates that the applicant doesn’t take things too seriously, and can remain calm under pressure," workplace expert Taylor explained to Bored Panda via email.

"Once on the job, humor can accomplish a great deal: 

• Humor breaks tension barriers, which can often arise in a workplace setting. It offers a more objective, healthy perspective on issues; that work is part of life—not a 'life sentence.'
• Levity makes the job more fun. People should look forward to their work life. By engaging in a little humor, employees can be themselves, as they create more business friendships.
• Humor helps increase productivity and employee engagement. When people get along and show their more human side, motivation and productivity increase. On the flip side, a rigid, serious work culture can make it difficult to produce optimal results.
• Humor has been proven to increase knowledge retention. Countless studies show that the brain is more receptive to information when humor is injected into the subject. As humans, we are drawn to laughter, and undoubtedly, this increases the level of interest and ability to learn, especially in a work environment."

Taylor, the author of ‘Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant,' explained that levity is an important factor in motivating employees. "It creates a friendlier environment where people want to produce their best work. When a manager uses humor, it is a reminder that 'we are all in this together,'" she said.

"Humor and humility are qualities highly sought after by employees in a manager. If your boss can laugh at themselves, it demonstrates to the team that no one is infallible. It counters the all-too-common expectation of an authoritarian management style."

However, the expert shared that even though humor in the workplace can be a great motivator, it can, at times, be used inappropriately. So there have to be some common sense limits.

"For example, humor that’s used at the expense of others, is insensitive or offensive, will generally backfire," Taylor pointed out.

"Levity is a good thing as long as it is well-placed and well-meaning. You can be witty and not sarcastic. You can be funny and not hurtful. Humor used to bully or embarrass others will ultimately be a detriment to anyone’s career," she told Bored Panda.

"A good rule of thumb is to exercise caution if you feel your words may be taken wrong. Better not to experiment at the risk of offending others. Use humor with good intentions."

Humor benefits us so much, frankly, it’s ridiculous! For starters, there are numerous physical benefits to laughing often and hard. Verywell Mind notes that laughter stimulates your lungs, improves your heart health, and can ease your discomfort. Meanwhile, Deborah Serani, Psy.D., explains on Psychology Today that laughter can reduce even chronic pain.

Not only that, but laughter is great for distracting you from whatever problems might be looming over you at the moment. It’s hard to stress out about those five unfair work deadlines when you’re giggling at your office BFF’s quips.

Speaking of stress, laughter can reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This means that laughter helps strengthen your immune system. What’s more, good jokes can give you a fresh new perspective on things. Yes, things at the office might seem unbearably tough, but if you manage to find the silver lining and keep your optimism, then you’re miles ahead of your coworkers.

Laughter is also a wonderful way to bring people together. If your colleagues are super serious all the time and barely ever crack a smile, you might start wondering whether you’d be better off jumping ship or searching for greener pastures. People spend a huge part of their lives at work, so it only makes sense that they want it to be pleasurable.

Trading quips and making witty comments can help you forge strong friendships with your coworkers. On top of that, a bit of quality, well-timed humor can make you seem more human—that’s especially helpful for managers who may want to have more down-to-earth work relationships with their staff.

It helps a lot if your workers see you as someone who is empathetic and approachable, not someone who’s a soulless, faceless corporate drone who only cares about profit. At the same time, you don't want to create the impression that you don't take anything seriously, either. It's a fine balance.

Of course, there are obviously limits to humor. While comedy is important—and we’ll be the first to defend this—the workplace can’t revolve just around giggles and sarcasm. Work really does need to come first. To oversimplify a tad, the better your results, the more flexibility you have in how much you can clown around.

If you manage to get things done well and efficiently and you’re generally well-liked, then you can get away with joking around more often. On the flip side, if all you do is fire off joke after joke without getting anything done, then your colleagues will have far less patience with you. Ideally, you want to seem optimistic and good-natured without disrupting everyone around you.

There are also common sense limits on the types of jokes you should be telling at work (or, well, anywhere else). Of course, this will depend a lot on your company’s culture and how close you are to your coworkers. For instance, you shouldn’t be bombarding someone you’ve never met before with endless witty insights. Build the relationship up a bit first before flexing your humorous side.

Similarly, you really do not want to alienate the office because you’re trying to ‘impress’ everyone with your spicy comments. That means that you should definitely avoid humor that might be offensive or discriminate against others. Raunchy jokes are also off the table in the workplace, as are quips that are deeply mean-spirited or could be interpreted as bullying.

When it comes to humor, everyone’s tastes are a little bit different. Some folks genuinely enjoy darker jokes and don’t even bat an eye at edgy social commentary. However, others might feel offended and even report you to HR or their superiors. So it’s best to keep your humor at work light, neutral, and friendly. If you’re ever on the fence about a witty comment, it might be best to keep quiet, smile, and nod along.

We’d love to hear which of these workplace pics you enjoyed the most, dear Pandas. Were there any that inspired you to write any funny notes at your own jobs? Swing on by the comment section to share your thoughts. Oh, and if you’d like to share how you keep your spirits up and approach humor at your own jobs, we’re all ears!