Why A Sense of Humor Can Get You Ahead In The Workplace — And Life

Smiling woman wearing eyeglasses against blue wall

The authors of ‘Humor, Seriously,’ on the surprising benefits of humor on your job prospects

What would our world be without laughter? Pretty boring. And unbeknownst to many, having a nice sense of humor can actually be a huge advantage in the workplace. Just ask Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas, authors of the new book, Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life.

Katie Couric asked Jennifer and Naomi a few questions about their findings (adding in some humor, herself.)


Katie Couric: Jennifer and Naomi, you have written a new book called ‘Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (and how anyone can harness it. even you.)’

Other than using the world’s longest title (kidding, see I’m using humor already!), what inspired you to write this book?

Naomi Bagdonas: That! You just did it! Now, this is something that comes naturally to you — but for those who maybe aren’t as inclined, the inspiration was to make looking for little windows of humor a default setting for people. It’s asking the question: how would your world change for the better if you navigate your life on the precipice of a smile?  And the answer is that you’ll be constantly surprised how many things push you over the edge, how much joy can be found and created in our lives — even from two authors’ terrible book titling.

This question came from a personal place for both of us. I have spent the last decade straddling corporate strategy and improv comedy — pretty much hiding both worlds from the other before realizing that the sense of humor I’d been afraid to bring to work is exactly what the business world desperately needs. (Not my sense of humor, specifically. But a sense of humor.)

Jennifer Aaker: And I am a behavioral scientist focused on how meaning and purpose shape the choices individuals make and how technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Mixed Reality (XR) are redefining human interaction. You know. Funny stuff.

I didn’t view humor as that important for most of my career. Sure, I liked laughter (which is impossible to say without sounding like a sociopath), but never viewed humor as an important skill to develop.

And then I saw it first hand eight years ago when I met an entrepreneur Amit Gupta, who was diagnosed with leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant and could not find one in the National Marrow Donor Program. It was daunting, intimidating, and not funny at all, but he approached this challenge in a way that was laced with levity. Part of his difficulty finding a match was that there weren’t enough South Asians in the donor database, so he had “BYOSA – Bring your Own South Asian” swab parties and gathered comedians for PSAs asking people to “give a spit about cancer” – give saliva samples for matching. Even though he was facing a deadly serious illness, he made the world around him magnetic – and ended up saving his own life, as well as the lives of many others.

None of the humor detracted from the seriousness of the task at hand, because that seriousness was self-evident. Humor helped build energy, drew others in – both friends and strangers – and mobilised them. I went from being surprised at how he reacted to being shocked we weren’t all doing this.

Tell me about some of your findings, which frankly, surprised me. (98 percent of top executives prefer employees with a sense of humor!) What is the value of humor in the workplace – and what impact does it have on the culture of a particular organization?

There are so many things that surprised us, which is a fact that surprises us because — you pick up the pattern. A lighthearted line at the end of a negotiation — like “my final offer is X, and I’ll throw in my pet frog” — can increase customers’ willingness to pay by 18%. Teams that laugh together are more than twice as likely to solve a creativity challenge, and their leaders rate them as having better communication and performance over time. And laughter has even been linked to longevity; a 15-year study found that those with a sense of humor were 30% more resistant to severe disease and lived, on average, 8 years longer. At a certain point, we’re like, “okay, we get it, a sense of humor is good for everything.” 

And then you learn that it can help relationships last. Like, when you ask couples to tell stories about moments of shared laughter, versus moments of shared happiness, they will subsequently report being 23% more satisfied in their relationships. Which is something to keep in mind when you make an embarrassing mistake. Like if you can both laugh about spilling cake batter all over yourself, it makes you happier over the long run than you would have been with a great cake. That said, we think we’d all prefer to eat our cake too. 

Some people are more naturally funny than others.  Is this also a how-to book on developing a sense of humor?

Absolutely. Some people are naturally funny, but let’s not worry about them. They’re doing their own thing. Like how some people are naturally great runners, but that’s no reason not to be jogging.

But what’s important is that humor isn’t about being funny.  It’s not about cracking jokes; it’s about being human, and cultivating a mindset where joy comes more easily. What unlocks most people here is gaining more insight into their humor style

We have a quiz (a fun kind) that people can take to understand their style. Most people naturally fall into one or two of these four styles.

  • Stand-Ups are bold, irreverent, and unafraid to ruffle a few feathers for a laugh. Think Amy Schumer and Eddie Murphy.
  • Sweethearts are earnest, honest, understated, and tend to use humor that lightens the mood rather than tears others down (e.g., Bowen Yang Jimmy Kimmel).
  • Snipers are edgy, sarcastic, nuanced, and are masters of the unexpected dig (e.g., Michelle Wolf, Bill Burr).
  • Magnet: Expressive, charismatic, sometimes even goofy, and easy to make laugh (e.g,. Jimmy Fallon and Ellen Degeneres).

Knowing your style helps you bring it out more naturally, use it more adeptly, and lead more authentically. Plus, it will make you a better jogger.  

Can you give me some more examples of executives who have used humor well and to positive ends?

Consider Spanx founder and CEO Sara Blakely — who, when founding Spanx, first approached the head buyer from Neiman Marcus by mailing him a single shoe and handwritten note that said “just trying to get my foot in the door; have minutes to chat?” The buyer called Sara back and that single act of humor proved more influential than hundreds of emails and calls.  

Or, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo who, periodically during All Hands meetings, would have team members join him on stage who he knew would banter with him and even make fun of him. Putting his sense of humor on display signaled humility, humanity, and it cut down the enormous status barrier that many felt between themselves and Dick. In the words of Dick, “you don’t have to be the quickest wit in the room; the easiest way to have more humor is not to try — instead, just look for moments to laugh. Making sure to not take yourself too seriously is step one, two, and three.”

Richard Branson is of course well-known for his public antics — from hiding in overhead bins on Virgin planes to hanging from a speeding helicopter from a bungee cord. But fewer realize Richard’s deep commitment to play to do really serious work. 

A number of years ago, Richard hosted a series of meetings at his home on Necker Island in the Caribbean. The meetings were to form the Elders, a group founded by Nelson Mandela to work together toward global peace and human rights. The inaugural brainstorming sessions included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Jimmy Carter, retired United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the musician and activist Peter Gabriel, and other world leaders.

Leading up to the event, Virgin Unite President Jean Oelwang and her team had spent months planning every detail of the meetings, preparing elaborate daily schedules, and compiling hundreds of pages of heavily researched presentations about pressing human rights issues. The night before the Elders arrived, Richard and the team convened to go over the plan. Richard took one look at the materials and said — great work, now cut it in half. He was resolute that the whole agenda for the retreat needed to be half work, half play. 

The idea bordered on ludicrous—world leaders were flying in from across the globe and dedicating multiple days to furthering the mission of peace and human rights, and the team was going to spend half of their time together playing? But that’s exactly what they did. They reworked the agenda so that the structured sessions were broken up with playful activities.

And as Jean tells the story — “play time” was when the real work happened. It was during one of those afternoons, as President Carter and Archbishop Tutu sat together on the beach, their toes dug into the sand, that the two men created what would eventually become the founding values for the Elders. 

Richard, Jean, and so many of the leaders we spotlight in our book are steadfast in their belief that serious moments—like this once-in-a lifetime brainstorm with some of the greatest leaders of a generation — are actually the ones in which levity is needed most. That the balance of gravity and levity gives power to both. 

Harnessing humor isn’t just fun, it’s a critical leadership skill.  Like communication, self-awareness, and secretly multitasking in board meetings.  

What is the most important learning you experienced when writing the book?

That humor is a secret weapon – not just to be more effective in business, but to have a more meaningful life. Research conducted by hospice workers has found that one of the biggest regrets people have in their final days of life is not having more joy in their life. But research into the regrets of the dying has shown that there are actually five themes: boldness, authenticity, presence, joy, and love.

What we’ve uncovered in our work is that humor doesn’t just mitigate this one regret of not laughing more — it helps us mitigate all five regrets. 

Humor moves us through negative emotions more quickly — defusing tension, empowering us to take bolder risks. 

Humor helps us express ourselves authentically. When we’re finding joy, we care less about what people think and do more of what we believe.  

Humor requires us to be fully present, to listen hard — to search for hidden truths in each moment. It requires us to live in the reality that each moment as it unfolds — is our life.

When you navigate your life on the precipice of a smile, you’ll be surprised how many things push you over the edge. How many places joy can be found or created. 

And humor builds love: There are few acts as easy and generous as sharing a laugh with someone. Where there is humor, love isn’t far behind.

Humor is a way of creating a more meaningful life.

Ok so, in addition to reading your book, how can anyone start putting this into practice now?  How can we all start having more joy in our lives?

Kidding! Ultimately, it’s about making small shifts in mindset and behavior, so we also took our best nuggets, tips, and activities to help people do this and put them into a 21-day Humor, Seriously Virtual Bootcamp, a coaching tool delivered to your phone via text to help you get serious about humor.

And as a special gift, everyone in your community can now get 50% off our 21-day SMS Bootcamp when they purchase of copy of Humor, Seriously. They simply have to fill out this form.