Humor in the Academic Library: You Must Be Joking! or, How Many Academic Librarians Does It Take to Change a Lightbulb?

Abstract

In an effort to improve profits and productivity for employers and the quality of work life for employees, many U.S. companies have begun to embrace humor in the workplace. Humor is thought to be a means to promote teamwork, reduce stress, stimulate creativity, and improve communication, morale, and productivity. Initiatives in business have included official programs such as creation of “humor rooms” for employee use as well as less-structured mechanisms such as encouraging the use of humor in memos and staff newsletters. This investigation discusses appropriate and potentially helpful applications of workplace humor to enhance the work atmosphere in academic libraries.