Laughter in the workplace Archives - Page 3 of 5

24 November, 2014 by Cris Popp

6 reasons to bring more laughter into work

When was the last time you had a good laugh at work? Has it been a couple weeks? Or is it verging on closer to a couple years? You may be missing out on a key element to a happy, efficient, and cohesive work environment.

1. Less Sick Days

Research suggests that laughter doesn’t only feel good, it has actually been proven to have a positive effect on overall health. Laughter reduces stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, improves cardiac health, boosts T-cells (which fight off disease infection), and lowers blood pressure.

2. Happier Workers

Besides reducing stress laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, which act as your body’s pain killers. Laughter has been shown to help ease chronic pain and improve your mood for hours afterwards. Apparently Rudolph Valentino, the ballet dancer, used laughter, to stave off the pain when he was ill in last years of his life.

3. Team Cohesion

Laughter cleanses. It clears the air of any residual negativity and replaces it with positive energy. Sharing a laugh with your coworkers improves your relationship and connects you on an emotional level. After sharing a laugh, they are more likely to share resources. Cohesion is important for a happy and healthy work environment.

4. Exercise

This is an especially good reason if you work in a predominantly sedentary position. Laughing exercises your diaphragm, as well as your abdominal, respiratory, facial, back, and even leg muscles. And it’s a lot more fun than a trip to the water cooler and back.

5. Improve knowledge retention

A study performed by John Hopkin’s University Medical School concluded that humour during instruction led to increased test scores. By presenting information in a humorous way, you can increase the likelihood of your employees’ retention of that information. Note: this is also good to keep in mind if you ever bring a speaker in to the workplace this is especially excellent as it links to me. A funny presenter is a memorable one!

6. Motivation

Let’s be honest here. How many jobs have you had that you can honestly say you were excited to go to? Probably not too many. Now try and think back to the jobs you liked the most – I’m willing to bet those were the ones where you had the most fun with your coworkers. By bringing laughter into your workplace, you create a happier work environment. Tension eases. Moods lift. And productivity skyrockets.

If you would like to have a laughter session at your workplace get in touch with Kris on (+61) 438 545 607 or info@laughterworks.com.au.

3 November, 2014 by Cris Popp

5 Ways Laughter is best for Your Weight and Health

Try remembering a time you were laughing hard. Did it make you feel good? Were you able to enjoy things and do a lot more when having a good time?

Engaging in a laughter workshop or laughter seminar has been recommended for many employees and organizations. Research shows that encouraging such simple act in the workplace can improve creativity, cooperation and camaraderie.

Other benefits include:

Calorie burn – laughter is a good exercise for your insiders. It improves blood circulation and increases heart rate. It can also tone your abdominal muscles. According to Dr. William Fry of Stanford University: “Laughing heartily five times a day has the same beneficial effects as ten minutes on a rowing machine.” Imagine having a good time and being your way to a toned and healthy body.

Immune system – laughter increases production of antibodies. It also decreases cortisol strengthening the immune system.
Blood sugar – a good round of laughs can reduce blood sugar levels. People with diabetes have reported better blood sugar levels and conditions.
Cholesterol – a good chuckle can increase your HDL cholesterol. Your body can do a little bit better with more good cholesterol in the system.
Pain reliever – if you cannot tolerate then a 10-minute worth of laugh should be a good start. According to research, 10 minutes of laughter can reduce as much as two hours of body pain.

These are just some of the ways laughter can help your body. A healthier body is also more resilient to stress giving you a better chance to enjoy yourself, and make the most out of your life – who wouldn’t want that?

Would like to have more laughter in your life and workplace? Get Laughterworks to deliver a laughter session at your workplace or next conference or event. Contact us: info@laughterworks.com.au, or 0438 545 607

20 October, 2014 by Cris Popp

Where did Laughter Yoga begin?

Dr Madan Kataria started laughter yoga in Mumbai, India after researching the benefits of laughter for an article he was writing. A fully qualified medical doctor, Madan held the word’s first laughter yoga session in a local park (there is actually a much funnier story about how it all began but we’ll keep that for when we meet you in person). The movement has since spread to more than 6,000 locations around the world and was included in the 2004 Melbourne International Festival.

At Laughter Works we’ve combined our work with Madan with our experience in leadership and professional development (including our work with Melbourne Business School) to develop laughter yoga specifically for workplace settings.

Recent research has shown laughter yoga to be highly effective at raising the performance of staff. The health benefits of laughter yoga are undisputed and universal. A customised laughter session is the best way to enjoy “the medicine of laughter”.

Book a laughter yoga session with us! Contact us: info@laughterworks.com.au, or + (61) 438 545 607.

13 October, 2014 by Cris Popp

Increase Workplace Productivity With Laughter

Numerous factors have been identified as major causes of stress such as job pressure, poor nutrition, relationships, media overload the list is endless. According to the American Psychological Association around 48% of people lie awake at night as a result of some sort of stress with an unbelievable 77% experiencing physical discomfort on a regular basis for the same reason.

Many of the people who cite stress related problems are quick to say how they’re not able to juggle other aspects of their social lives in tandem with their work related responsibilities. Research conducted in August 2014 by the American Psychological Association, American Institute of Stress, NY has revealed that annual costs incurred by employers due to employees stress related issues such as absconding duty or healthcare problems run into hundreds of billions of dollars. $300 Billion to be exact! A laughable if not ridiculous amount.

How Laughter Relieves Stress

Someone once said that laughter is the best medicine and it really is! Scientific research has shown that a good laugh has both short and long-term effects on your health. One such positive impact is that laughing will soothe your body muscles simultaneously stimulating your heart and lungs as well as increasing your blood pressure and heart rate resulting in a relaxed feeling. Stanford University’s Dr. William Fry also proved that 10 minutes of enthusiastic laughter equals half an hour on the rowing machine and offers the same aerobic value.

A happy employee is a productive employee and laughter activities in the workplace have been proven to exponentially increase productivity. This is easily achieved through increased efficiency, enhanced communication and better teamwork all of which are combined to create a happier workplace. John Cleese, an English comedian and actor once said “people who laugh together, work together”. Laughter therapy offered at laughter workshops is one of the ways team cohesion is enhanced.

Other than being an important tool for team building, laughter also enhances our focus. Our minds’ attention span is greatly reduced after the first 90 minutes of a meeting or conference event. A laughter session goes a long way in helping revitalize our energy and increases our focus on the task at hand be it a convoluted HR training session or a protracted conference meeting.

Contact Us

Here at Laughterworks we specialize in laughter to create an environment that is great fun for all. Kris Popp is a renowned laughter leader who has perfected his art over many years of experience. For more on how you can make your next conference fun and interactive please get in touch with us: info@laughterworks.com.au or (+ 61) 438 545 607.

6 October, 2014 by Cris Popp

Factors To Consider When Organizing a Conference

Conferences provide a great way to broaden your network of like-minded people, share your ideas and ease up tension at the workplace through effective team-building. Well organized events will normally leave you bursting with fresh ideas and wondering why the aha! moment hadn’t come any sooner.

To set up a successful event however requires a lot of skill not to mention tireless effort. You should be prepared for late nights, a roller coaster of emotions and your social life will be interrupted in no small measure. A lot of people fail at event organizing as they mostly try to retrofit ideas from previous conferences which mostly results in a mediocre conference or an outright disaster.

By simply having a check-off list while planning your first conference you will have avoided the many pitfalls that many novice organizers fall into. Here are a couple of things you should be sure to get right from the get-go:

Event Theme

It may sound pretty obvious but torturing yourself with thoughts of everything that could go wrong may easily make you forget why the conference is held in the first place! A principle unifying idea not only sets the tone for the entire event but also offers guidance on what items should be the main focus; it makes creating an invitation list for the attendees much easier and makes choosing guest speakers a breeze!

Venue

Conventional conferences are not virtual and so determining a venue that is comfortable for all the attendees is critical. Attendees are more likely to be excited about an event held in a conference hall with an airy feel to it featuring large windows with a stunning view as compared to some dingy basement accented with a hint of mustiness. Comfort for the attendees means that they’ll have a better attention span and even want to stay behind and meet new people once the speakers conclude their speeches.

Speakers

Speakers can either make or break an event. Different speakers will have various ways of capturing the attendees attention for the time they’re up on stage. While most people will try to keep their allotted time at a minimum while offering the most value some subjects require an exhaustive explanation and its fairly common for the audience to drift off to what they had for breakfast or a less banal topic.

According to the journal of Primary Prevention (2007) laughter influences the amount of effort put toward a goal. This would come in handy especially during conferences that are geared toward workplace team-building. In addition optimism and motivation levels were boosted by laughter among the participants of the study making them more effective at work. Just because a subject is dynamic or the speaker is unable to build rapport with the audience shouldn’t mean that it’s ok to settle for a gloomy conference.