Laugh at Work Week

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By Diane Forrest

I love to laugh Ha Ha HaHa

Loud and long and clear

I love to laugh

Ho Ho Ho Ho

It’s getting worse every year

The more I laugh

Ha Ha Ha Ha

The more I fill with glee

And the more with glee

He He He He

The more I’m a merrier me!

April Fool's day was a great way to start Laugh at Work week.  You can start the day sharing some of the funny pranks you heard, saw, or performed.  A little laughter is a great way to start the day.  Some folks have stressful jobs, and joking around may not be appropriate.  One job that comes to mind is a funeral director.  I have seen some movies and television shows however, where someone gets those unstoppable giggles during a funeral service.

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Life however is different from the television shows we watch.  Shows like The Office, or 30 Rock do not depict the average work locations.  I was talking to my cousin about her job, and if they ever have laughs or fun there.  She said sure, when we LEAVE work.

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Jacki Kwan, humor therapist and author of Almost Home: Embracing the Magical Connection Between Positive Humor & Spirituality offers some tips on things to do to bring a little laughter into your workplace.  They include:

• Listen to a funny audiotape or radio show on your drive to work. Then, remind yourself of the jokes you heard throughout the day.
• Clip a comic from the newspaper and post it on your desk or workspace. Pick a new comic every day to keep your spirits high.
• Share a joke with a co-worker. Make sure it’s appropriate, of course, and it will keep you both in a good mood for the whole day.
• Take a walk on your lunch break. Moving your body will lift your mood, get your blood pumping, and relieve tension.
• Get some funny props: a clown nose, a rubber chicken, an outrageous wig… whatever keeps you laughing. Keep the props in a desk drawer and break them out when things get too serious.

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How to spice things up at work:

Play the Office Game

Here's a way to spice up your office. Pick two or three colleagues and agree to play the Office Game which awards points as follows:

ONE POINT

Run one lap around the office at top speed. Walk sideways to the photocopier.

Find the vacuum and start vacuuming around your desk.

When they're not looking, pour most of someone's fresh cup of coffee into your mug leaving them with an inch of brew.

Ignore the first five people who say 'good morning' to you.

Phone someone in the office you barely know, leave your name and say "Just called to say I can't talk right now. Bye."

To signal the end of a conversation, clamp your hands over your ears and grimace.

While riding an elevator, gasp dramatically every time the doors open.

THREE-POINTS

Babble incoherently at a fellow employee then ask "Did you get all that, I don't want to have to repeat it." - Double points if you do this to a manager.

Kneel in front of the water cooler and drink directly from the nozzle.

Shout random numbers while someone is counting.

FIVE POINTS

At the end of a meeting, suggest that, for once, it would be nice to conclude with the singing of the national anthem (extra points if you actually launch into it yourself).

Walk into a very busy person's office and while they watch you with growing irritation, turn the light switch on/off 10 times.

For an hour, refer to everyone you speak to as 'Bob'.

Announce to everyone in a meeting that you "really have to go do number two".

After every sentence, say 'mon' in a really bad Jamaican accent. As in, "the report's on your desk, mon". Keep this up for one hour.

While an office mate is out, move their chair into the elevator.

In a meeting or crowded situation, slap your forehead repeatedly and mutter, "Shut up, all of you just shut up!"

In a colleague's diary, write in 10 am: "See how I look in tights".

Carry your laptop over to your colleague and ask "You wanna trade?"

Repeat the following conversation 10 times to the same person: "Do you hear that?" "What?" "Never mind, it's gone now"

Come to work in army fatigues and when asked why, say, "I can't talk about it"

Speak with an accent (French, German, Porky Pig, etc.) during a very important conference call.

Tuck one pant leg into your sock and when queried, answer, "not now" and walk away.

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