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by Bobbe White
As layoffs continue while organizations expect remaining employees to maintain--or even increase--productivity, more and more people are sagging under the increased work load. The resulting pressure is evidenced by frenetic schedules, strained relationships, quick tempers, increasing rudeness and mounting incidents of serious road rage. Has anyone laughed lately?
Southwest Airlines is one of the few "serious" businesses established with "fun" as one of its central values. How about your culture? Does it include a sense of enjoyment, a spirit of fun, and even (gasp!) outright shouts of laughter? Is laughter not only tolerated--but valued and encouraged-- in your organization? If not, maybe you should consider bringing in a Certified Laughter Leader (CLL).
Don't laugh. We're not joking. CLL Bobbe White explained in a recent issue of Executive Update that laughter is not only valuable but "can even be lifesaving." The health benefits of laughter were well documented in Anatomy of an Illness As Perceived by the Patient, a book written by Saturday Review Executive Editor Norman Cousins and published in 1991 by Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing. The book chronicles Cousins' victory over cancer by teaming with his doctor to use medical treatment combined with "laughter, courage and tenacity".
Southwest Airlines' success amid the dismal reports by other airlines indicates that laughter can be beneficial to the health of a company as well. As quoted in White's Executive Update article, Susan Wilner of the American Business Women's Association says, "Laughter is incredibly delicious food for the body and soul!" And White points out that, while children laugh "an estimated 300 to 400 times a day", adults manage to find humor an average of only 15 times each day.
Before that depresses you, read the entire article to learn the specific health benefits of laughter--and to gain some tips on incorporating more laughter into your daily life. Go to
http://www.gwsae.org/executiveupdate/2003/March/hp.htm
The author, Bobbe White is a speaker and trainer who runs Try Laughter! Inc. in Quincy, Illinois. She can be reached at (888) 836-0051 or
bobbe@trylaughter.com. Her website is
www.trylaughter.com.
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