The Hump Day Humor-Gram, July 12, 2006, Issue Number 184 1. A Culture of Fun . . . or a Culture of Rolling Eyes? 2. Mike's Fun at Work Tip 3. Quote of the Week 4. It's a Wacky, Wacky World ========================================================== 1. A Culture of Fun. . . or a Culture of Rolling Eyes? University of Cambridge researcher Peter Fleming found that many companies that try to create a culture of fun fail because they breed greater cynicism. In some workplaces, employees doubted that the efforts to add more fun were sincere; in fact many folks suspected the real goal was not greater employee satisfaction but greater profits. That’s why we need to make sure that we aren’t using humour and fun as window dressing or a band-aid solution, but rather we are integrating it into the values and culture in our workplaces. It’s not so much about what we do in the workplace, it’s about who we are being. And it’s about remembering that as much as humor can be a tool to help us do our jobs better, it’s also the end result or by-product of working in a healthy, respectful, inspiring and people-centered workplace. ========================================================== 2. Mike's Fun at Work Tip Over the last few years, I’ve suggested various “matching contests” for you, such as “Match the Baby Photo to the Employee” or “Match the Pet to the Employee”, but here’s definitely a new one: The Mutual Aid Association of Buckeye, Kansas, celebrated Fun at Work Day by holding a “Match the Foot to the Employee.” Yes, they went barefoot, shot photos of everyone’s feet, then doled out prizes for whoever could match the foot to its rightful (or leftful, depending on which foot it was) owner. ========================================================= 3. Deep Thought of the Week “If a cow laughed, would milk come out of his nose?” Anon ========================================================== 4. It's a Wacky, Wacky World You think you have a bad commute to work? David Givens, an electrical engineer, was the winner of “America’s Longest Commute” contest with a whopping 3.5 hour ONE- WAY commute of 372 miles!! So just remember you rush hour warriors, it could be worse . . . Happy Hump Day everybody. Laugh long and prosper. ======================================================= Copyright Michael Kerr, 2006 mailto:mike@mikekerr.com Reach Michael at 1-866-609-2640, http://www.MikeKerr.com.