Bored Panda reached out to comedy expert Ariane to learn more about the importance of humor, the role it plays in motivating others to work harder, and whether or not it’s worth it to be the office clown.

According to Ariane, humor and fun “definitely” have a positive effect on our motivation in the workplace. “The more fun you have at work, the more likely you are to want to be at work, so you're happy to stay for longer and happy to be there in the first place,” she explained.

The comedy writer shared a snippet from her own past with Bored Panda: “My last job was a blast, we had loads of fun and it was a really warm, friendly environment so I couldn't wait to get into work in the mornings.”

However, sometimes it’s incredibly hard to see the silver lining. Especially if we’re burned out or can’t see the purpose of what we’re doing in our day-to-day grind.

“Working in difficult jobs can definitely suck the joy out of life. When I worked in retail I couldn't wait to leave!” Ariane said, offering some advice. “Look for the good things. Sometimes that's just the money and what it buys you, sadly.”

The comedy expert said that realistically speaking, we can’t always learn to take a stressful job less seriously. “It's difficult not to take work seriously when it takes up so much of your life, and if it's impairing your happiness then you need to look for a new job,” she pointed out.

Finally, Ariane went a bit into detail about the limits of fun and humor at work. Bored Panda asked her how being the office clown impacts one’s career and day-to-day job satisfaction.

“Sure, you can be the office clown, but only if you're really good at your job too. No one's going to mind you joking around if you're also acing it at work,” she said that as long as we’re pulling our weight and earning brownie points from our superiors, we can afford to be silly from time to time.

“It's when it's detrimental to your work that people start to frown upon it. But I've always been the company clown and I've found it's a great way to get through the grind of a workday!” she said.

While we’re joking about with our coworkers, it’s still worth remembering that we need to leave a positive impression on our managers and bosses. And that means periodically reminding them of our achievements and keeping them in the loop about our progress. In short, communication is key.

Financial expert Sam Dogen, who runs the Financial Samurai project, shared with Bored Panda that ‘managing our managers’ is an important skill to know. 

“Managing your manager entails keeping him or her abreast of what you are up to,” the expert said that we have to find a balance between oversharing and undersharing. Avoid unnecessary details but strive to keep them in the know about how well you’re doing and how you’re contributing to the company.

“It means highlighting your key wins and reminding them at the end of the year about what you did in the first half of the year,” Sam said.

“It is very important to keep everything in writing. Over time, we tend to forget our interactions,” he said that we shouldn’t rely just on our memories when promised are made or important conversations are had.

Keep a paper trail, save some screenshots, and use those to document your positive progress or protect yourself in case you’re accused of something you know for a fact you didn’t do. What’s more, the paper trail can help you land a promotion (or at least a raise) later on down the line.

“By keeping things in writing, we can better remember situations and better argue for ourselves when it comes to asking for a raise and a promotion.”

So there you have, it Pandas, some of the most fun and funny things that coworkers have done to make everyone laugh in the workplace. Which of these posts did you enjoy the most? Are you by any chance the clown in your department or office? Let us know how you keep up your spirits and those of your fellow employees while on the clock!