Is laughter
always the best medicine? Psychologists have said that laughter relieves
tension and stress, elevates mood, and enhances creativity and boost
friendship. But the real question is, is it professional to be using humour as
a tool to help dissolve conflict in the workplace? Laughter can help to build
strong relationships and bring people closer together but what happens when the
other party doesn’t find your humour funny?
Professionalism
is key when negotiating with an employee, you need the employee to respect your
position within the company but you do not want them to be fearful of you.
Having a one to one conversation with an employee to find a conflict resolution
means that you need to relay to the employee that you empathise with them. But
is it ever acceptable to try and make a joke out of the situation?
When conflict
throws a wrench in your working relationship, humour can be the only solution
to establishing the working relationship that was once there as it can help
lighten things up and restore a sense of connection. If humour is implemented
correctly to help defuse a conflict negotiation it can be very beneficial to
both the employee and the manager. Humour can help to turn tension, awkwardness
and conflict into laughter and help you to gain better understanding of the
needs of the other party. Humour helps you express your opinions and needs to
the other party without being disrespectful.
Case
Study
Mandy is 35 and
works at a corporate company in London. Mandy and her manager are having a
conflict negotiation meeting about a pay rise she has been requesting for
numerous months and each time has been declined. The problem is Mandy is
requesting a 20% pay rise and her manager will not allow this. Mandy has been
feeling upset and angry as she feels that all the work she has put into the
company has gone unrecognised and believes that she deserves a pay rise. Mandy’s
boss recognises how important she is as an employee and does not want to lose
her, he is hoping that empathising with Mandy and incorporating humour into the
negotiation will soften her up and they will be able to mutually come to a resolution
that will be suitable for both parties. Mandy’s boss acknowledges that Mandy is an adrenaline
junkie and brings this up at their meeting; her boss then begins to play on
this using humour, it helps to break the ice between the pair. In the end Mandy
and her manager are able to come to an understanding that she will be given a
10% pay rise with an extra days annual leave.
Is it ever
acceptable to use humour to defuse a situation within the workplace knowing
that it could have a detrimental impact on the relationship between the manager
and employee if not executed properly?
Please feel
free to leave your thoughts below J
Depending on the situation as you have to weigh up the pros and cons with this outlook. In this case you have outlined that it worked in favor and it can be seen that is has been beneficial for both parties. Going with presumption, you would assume a manager would have considered whether it could be detrimental or beneficial and taken a judgement on whether to go ahead with using humor but with a professional manner and outlook to a situation.
ReplyDeleteConflict does not always have to be bad. Disagreements or differences of opinions often result in better solutions to new and existing problems.
ReplyDeleteI think it all depends on the situation. The use of humour is always a great way of breaking the ice and making people feel at ease. However i believe that this can only be used in certain cases. In Mandy's case, the manager was able to happily settle an agreeable pay rise however, Mandy's initial thoughts were that her hard work was not being noticed and she wanted a 20% pay rise and only received a 10% pay rise. These thoughts will once again come back as she will continue to work hard and the use of humour again to settle the issue would not be ideal.
ReplyDeleteIt all depends really but i believe its more of con than a pro.
As the previous comments stated, it all depends on the situation and also the person. Some people don't take lightly to humor when it is regarding a serious situation or topic, also it depends on how the humor is used. However in this situation it is apparent that humor can sometimes work when it is used correctly, I personally think that this is quite a risky approach especially within the workplace.
ReplyDelete