You've got to laugh a little; even at work

A young executive was leaving the office late one evening when he found the CEO standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Listen," said the CEO, "this is a very sensitive and important document here, and my secretary has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work?"

"Certainly," said the young executive. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button.

"Excellent, excellent!" said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the machine. "I just need one copy."

Rimshot!

OK, so I'm not sure how funny that joke is to the average person. (I found it online at allfreejokes.com.) But it's meant to make a point: the workplace can be funny.

And that's a good thing.

I believe that the best office environment is one in which people are both productive and happy. And as far as I'm concerned, you can't really be happy unless you've got some humor in your life.

Now I'm glad to report that my belief is supported by statistical evidence.

According to a new survey from Accountemps, a specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals, 79 percent of chief financial officers interviewed said an employee's sense of humor "is important for fitting into the company's corporate culture."

In the survey, which was conducted by an independent research firm and based on interviews with more than 1,400 CFOs of U.S. companies, 22 percent said a sense of humor was very important, and 57 percent said it was somewhat important. Only 20 percent said it was not important at all.

"Sometimes, a little levity goes a long way toward building rapport among colleagues and diffusing workplace tension," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps, in a prepared statement. "All work and no play can erode employee morale."

I have certainly found that to be the case during my career. For example, one of my favorite jobs from the past was that of business editor for the Deseret News. I held that position for several years, and I was fortunate to work with the same group of reporters for much of my time as editor. Not only were these people talented journalists, but they were also a lot of fun.