Daryl's passion is now the subject of his PhD research
Daryl's work in comedy has enabled him to witness the many positive affects that appropriate humour can have.
His interest in this topic has led him to some rigorous research into the value of positive humour in Australian workplaces.
Click on the "Introduction to humour presentation" button above to check a little of this fascinating work.
IT'S A GOOD JOB BEING SERIOUSLY FUNNY
Originally published in ‘The Mercury’ 2 August 2014
Laugh in the face of adversity – it’s good for you, says Daryl Peebles
A significant proportion of Tasmania’s workforce went to work this week uncertain about their future. The restructuring (yet again) of a large State Government department together with mine closures and the flow-on effects within the Queenstown community are just current examples of a string of similar situations in Tasmania that leave workers feeling confused, fearful, angry, betrayed or sad – or maybe a mix of all these emotions. And that is understandable.
Similarly the daily news from around the world is mostly bad. If it wasn’t for sport on our television and radio news broadcasts or in our newspapers there would be very little in the news to lift our spirits.
But dwelling in a cauldron of all this negativity is not doing us any favours. These emotions are natural reactions to stressful situations and are best acknowledged and dealt with. Bottling them up can be problematic. The old adage is that if you don’t deal with your emotions at the time, then they will affect you at a later date. Just ask any counsellor or your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider – assuming of course that your employer has the foresight to engage an EAP.
The worst thing that can happen in times of uncertainty is for workplace corridors and tea-rooms to become cesspools of negativity in which people feed off each other’s anger, fear or sadness and the whole situation disintegrates into a negative downward spiral.
One remedy for breaking this vicious downward plunge is relatively simple – laughter!
Have you ever been in a situation where a conversation is becoming heated, teeth are starting to grind and fists clenched, and one of the protagonists says or does something to make the other laugh? It is virtually impossible to maintain a rage and laugh simultaneously.
Victims of bullying often use this technique to survive. Nazeem Hussain, one of Australia’s most successful contemporary comedians, mentioned his own use of this technique on the ABC’s Australian Story this week.
Even in life-and-death situations, the ability to reframe the circumstance and see the funny side can make a difference. Viktor Frankl endured the most horrific of circumstances in an Auschwitz concentration camp. After his release, Frankl wrote his masterpiece Man’s Search for Meaning in which he described his concentration camp experiences and his coping mechanisms.
On humour, Frankl wrote, “The attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of a trick learned while mastering the art of living. Yet it is possible to practice the art of living even in a concentration camp, although suffering is omnipresent.”
Closer to home and more recently, media reports on the trapped Beaconsfield miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb often mentioned their humour, describing it as a ‘critical tonic’ for their ultimate survival.
"Their regular conversation is quite cheeky," said Matthew Gill, the then manager of the Beaconsfield goldmine.
"One wanted Saturday's paper because he had resigned. I think that was Todd. And the reason he wanted Saturday's paper was because he was going to look for another job."
Asked if Mr Russell would be offered a pay rise to stay on, Mr Gill replied with the same good humour, "No, I'll discipline him for lying down on the job."
Todd and Brant told the rescue team they wanted to ‘get out by Saturday’ to play footy and that, given their current circumstance, they intended to claim overtime and back-pay.
We do not have to let anger, fear and sadness rule or dictate our lives. In fact we perform at our optimum levels when we are in a state of joy. Good humour; that is humour which is appropriate, inclusive and uplifting, is one way of returning us back toward a joyous state in which we can think more clearly and act more rationally than we would if we are stuck in the mire of negativity.
This advice is not mere hear-say or urban myth. Increasingly more evidence is being collected supporting the theory that laughter is good for us all – physiologically, psychologically and socially. The pursuit of happiness in workplaces is not some weird touchy-feely passing fad. Just as workplace negativity is contagious, so too is positivity.
There are measurable productivity benefits that flow from a happy, healthy workplace. It is as much about building resilience in individuals and helping them find meaning and purpose in their work as it is about workers being allowed to be fully present when they come to work. Old management theories that workers having fun could not be really working, couldn’t be further from the truth.
This is not about turning offices into stand-up comedy clubs or turning factories and warehouses into circuses. It is about valuing and nurturing that ability within us all to look for the joy and lightness in even the most distressing of times. It is about people taking their jobs seriously while taking themselves lightly.
It is most important, however, that the humour in workplaces is used to lift people up – not put them down. Remember David Brent (Ricky Gervais) in The Office?
Managers who do not appreciate and embrace this concept are not only proving to the world that they are complete misery mongers but are also missing out on productivity gains such as employee commitment, discretionary effort, job satisfaction and lower turnover rates.
If you are dragging yourself into an unhappy workplace next week, try reframing the experience.
Eat one live toad the first thing Monday morning before you go to work and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day! If that seems a little unpalatable, just tell your workmates that is what you did and why you did it.
It will probably at least get a laugh and may even start to reverse the downward spiral.
********************
SHORT BIO
Daryl Peebles had a professional career in corporate communications and human resource management while enjoying a parallel pro-am career as an entertainer, predominantly in comedy. He graduated with a PhD from the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics (UTAS) where he researched the value of positive humour in the workplace.
His interest in this topic has led him to some rigorous research into the value of positive humour in Australian workplaces.
Click on the "Introduction to humour presentation" button above to check a little of this fascinating work.
IT'S A GOOD JOB BEING SERIOUSLY FUNNY
Originally published in ‘The Mercury’ 2 August 2014
Laugh in the face of adversity – it’s good for you, says Daryl Peebles
A significant proportion of Tasmania’s workforce went to work this week uncertain about their future. The restructuring (yet again) of a large State Government department together with mine closures and the flow-on effects within the Queenstown community are just current examples of a string of similar situations in Tasmania that leave workers feeling confused, fearful, angry, betrayed or sad – or maybe a mix of all these emotions. And that is understandable.
Similarly the daily news from around the world is mostly bad. If it wasn’t for sport on our television and radio news broadcasts or in our newspapers there would be very little in the news to lift our spirits.
But dwelling in a cauldron of all this negativity is not doing us any favours. These emotions are natural reactions to stressful situations and are best acknowledged and dealt with. Bottling them up can be problematic. The old adage is that if you don’t deal with your emotions at the time, then they will affect you at a later date. Just ask any counsellor or your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider – assuming of course that your employer has the foresight to engage an EAP.
The worst thing that can happen in times of uncertainty is for workplace corridors and tea-rooms to become cesspools of negativity in which people feed off each other’s anger, fear or sadness and the whole situation disintegrates into a negative downward spiral.
One remedy for breaking this vicious downward plunge is relatively simple – laughter!
Have you ever been in a situation where a conversation is becoming heated, teeth are starting to grind and fists clenched, and one of the protagonists says or does something to make the other laugh? It is virtually impossible to maintain a rage and laugh simultaneously.
Victims of bullying often use this technique to survive. Nazeem Hussain, one of Australia’s most successful contemporary comedians, mentioned his own use of this technique on the ABC’s Australian Story this week.
Even in life-and-death situations, the ability to reframe the circumstance and see the funny side can make a difference. Viktor Frankl endured the most horrific of circumstances in an Auschwitz concentration camp. After his release, Frankl wrote his masterpiece Man’s Search for Meaning in which he described his concentration camp experiences and his coping mechanisms.
On humour, Frankl wrote, “The attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of a trick learned while mastering the art of living. Yet it is possible to practice the art of living even in a concentration camp, although suffering is omnipresent.”
Closer to home and more recently, media reports on the trapped Beaconsfield miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb often mentioned their humour, describing it as a ‘critical tonic’ for their ultimate survival.
"Their regular conversation is quite cheeky," said Matthew Gill, the then manager of the Beaconsfield goldmine.
"One wanted Saturday's paper because he had resigned. I think that was Todd. And the reason he wanted Saturday's paper was because he was going to look for another job."
Asked if Mr Russell would be offered a pay rise to stay on, Mr Gill replied with the same good humour, "No, I'll discipline him for lying down on the job."
Todd and Brant told the rescue team they wanted to ‘get out by Saturday’ to play footy and that, given their current circumstance, they intended to claim overtime and back-pay.
We do not have to let anger, fear and sadness rule or dictate our lives. In fact we perform at our optimum levels when we are in a state of joy. Good humour; that is humour which is appropriate, inclusive and uplifting, is one way of returning us back toward a joyous state in which we can think more clearly and act more rationally than we would if we are stuck in the mire of negativity.
This advice is not mere hear-say or urban myth. Increasingly more evidence is being collected supporting the theory that laughter is good for us all – physiologically, psychologically and socially. The pursuit of happiness in workplaces is not some weird touchy-feely passing fad. Just as workplace negativity is contagious, so too is positivity.
There are measurable productivity benefits that flow from a happy, healthy workplace. It is as much about building resilience in individuals and helping them find meaning and purpose in their work as it is about workers being allowed to be fully present when they come to work. Old management theories that workers having fun could not be really working, couldn’t be further from the truth.
This is not about turning offices into stand-up comedy clubs or turning factories and warehouses into circuses. It is about valuing and nurturing that ability within us all to look for the joy and lightness in even the most distressing of times. It is about people taking their jobs seriously while taking themselves lightly.
It is most important, however, that the humour in workplaces is used to lift people up – not put them down. Remember David Brent (Ricky Gervais) in The Office?
Managers who do not appreciate and embrace this concept are not only proving to the world that they are complete misery mongers but are also missing out on productivity gains such as employee commitment, discretionary effort, job satisfaction and lower turnover rates.
If you are dragging yourself into an unhappy workplace next week, try reframing the experience.
Eat one live toad the first thing Monday morning before you go to work and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day! If that seems a little unpalatable, just tell your workmates that is what you did and why you did it.
It will probably at least get a laugh and may even start to reverse the downward spiral.
********************
SHORT BIO
Daryl Peebles had a professional career in corporate communications and human resource management while enjoying a parallel pro-am career as an entertainer, predominantly in comedy. He graduated with a PhD from the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics (UTAS) where he researched the value of positive humour in the workplace.
