In the age of employee engagement surveys, 360-degree reviews, and endless KPIs, we often overlook one of the simplest, most powerful indicators of workplace culture: laughter.
Yes—laughter. That spontaneous, human expression of connection, comfort, and shared understanding. Walk through any office, warehouse, or Zoom meeting and listen carefully. Are people laughing? Are teams smiling, joking, enjoying their work together? If not, the culture might be more toxic than you think.
A study published in Harvard Business Review found that laughter not only increases employee engagement, but also boosts productivity by 10% and reduces stress levels by up to 39%.
Meanwhile, Gallup reports that employees who feel they can be themselves at work—humour included—are 3.2 times more likely to be engaged.
Laughter isn’t just light-hearted fun—it’s a serious signal of safety, trust, and team cohesion. It tells you that people feel seen, supported, and secure enough to be human. And it’s no coincidence that high-performing cultures are often filled with humour.
So, how do leaders build a culture where laughter thrives? Here are the top three ways:
1. Model Humility and Humanity
Leaders set the emotional tone of the business. If you’re always serious, guarded, or transactional, your team will mirror that.
But if you can laugh at yourself, show vulnerability, and bring your whole personality to the table, others will follow suit.
Humour doesn’t undermine leadership—it humanises it.
2. Create Psychological Safety
People don’t laugh when they feel judged, micromanaged, or at risk.
Laughter flourishes in environments where employees feel psychologically safe. That means encouraging open dialogue, welcoming questions, and rewarding authenticity—not just outcomes. When people know they won’t be punished for being real, humour naturally emerges.
3. Design for Joyful Moments
Inject intentional fun into the rhythm of work. Celebrate small wins, share light-hearted stories in meetings, or use humour in internal comms.
Even virtual teams can play games, share memes, or kick off meetings with a “joke of the week.” Culture is shaped in moments—so make those moments joyful.
In a world of metrics and dashboards, remember: the sound of laughter may be your clearest measure of cultural health.
It’s free, it’s honest, and it says more about your leadership than any engagement score ever could.
If your workplace isn’t laughing, your culture might be crying out for change and that change may be they are wanting a new leader.
