Reinventing HR through Humor with Gita Kolkarni

Speaker 2: 0:03

This is the Rebel HR Podcast, the podcast about all things innovation in the people's space. I'm Kyle Rode. Let's start the show. Welcome back, hr Rebels. We are super excited for this week's guest. With us we have Gita Kolkarni. She is the founder of the Humor Edge and Aveda Services, and we are going to be talking all about how to be funny in human resources, which sounds oxymoronic. Gita, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:35

Thank you, sir, great to be here.

Speaker 2: 0:37

Well, I'm super excited to have you. We've had a couple conversations now and I've just been really looking forward to this discussion because we're going to be talking about something that I think is a little bit honestly, a little bit like out of bounds for a lot of HR professionals, in true Rebel form. We are going to be talking about humor and how we can use this for good. First question I really have is I'm fascinated to understand the origin story of the Humor Edge. What prompted you to found an organization that was dedicated on humor in that place?

Speaker 1: 1:21

Yeah, I would say I think we're in the right place, the right time in history for this to take front stage. I will tell you, this is a culmination of my own self-therapy. For years, I started a business. Aveda Services was started back in 2005. I think a lot of people can relate to.

Speaker 1: 1:44

This was about change and implementing change, and the way, the currency that I would find to get people to embrace change was humor. Whether you were a person, we would have to implement technology, just as we still do. The only way that you can get people to do something that they don't like, or one of many ways, is humor. It's a great tool to do that. It's great to captivate and get people, especially up and down the line managers, founders, people that are having to consume and use the app. That was one piece that always captivates, stops people on tracks and gets people to do things. The other thing that you're seeing out in the world is this proliferation of social media. We are information hogs and we sit there and look at all this social media and humor is the thing that we're constantly consuming. Our mind is coming to that place. The other thing that you're seeing is just this workplace stress. It's so pervasive.

Speaker 1: 2:45

I think we're in a great place where it's just a perfect storm and a perfect opportunity for us to, especially with technology up leveling us. We've got to get into these software places like humor to bring reality to work.

Speaker 2: 3:01

Absolutely. First of all, I think I'm really funny. This is confirmation bias. Every HR professional knows what that means, but I like to think that this is what I do. I picked a profession that is not funny typically, which is I don't know weird, I guess, but I do find that it's so cathartic to laugh sometimes. I think that you mentioned it stress I've never thought about humor in the context of change management, but that is a fascinating perspective to think about it. But I think, as I reflect on just my experience in the workplace, I just like having fun at work, can't we just like? Can't work also be fun and not miserable?

Speaker 1: 4:04

It's a beautiful place when you are having fun and you are opening up your mind. You're opening up this reflexes for reception. I will say one of the things that, as I kind of got to know you in this world, was your video where you did your guitar. That's such a great creative expression. Humor is also a great creative expression. People will remember things, but the things that they really will remember are those bits that are funny, that make you laugh, that put a warm spirit into you, that show creative expression. Humor is a great currency for that.

Speaker 1: 4:41

Like you said, a lot of people don't realize this can be used in an operational means to kind of drive productivity within self, within teams, within organizations. Believe it or not, I think there's so much room for this in the world of HR. We tend to kind of gasp and kind of go into, like Angela at the office mode, where we don't want to talk about it. We get shut down by it. But it's a great place where, if you teach people how to do it and you also teach people how to not do it, you really can foster some magic.

Speaker 2: 5:19

I couldn't agree more. I think I struggled with this and that you mentioned guitar, like for me, it was, like you know, my creative expression was music, but there was always this assumption until recently actually that it needed to be separate from my, like, corporate life, right, like I had to compartmentalize that because that's just something I do in my, you know, my free time. But the reality is, you know, we talk so much about being authentic and driving, you know, connection with people and bringing humanity back in the workplace and actually, you know, it's literally in our job title human resources. And you know, quite frankly, life and humans are funny, right.

Speaker 1: 6:01

Like we're weird.

Speaker 2: 6:02

Like there's like we're not supposed to be like this, like serious corporate automatron all the time at work and you know what? That just kind of sucks Like. That's not how I want to be known. You know, in my career the guy that always followed every policy and procedure and had absolutely, you know, the personality of dry wallpaper, right, like, like.

Speaker 1: 6:25

Exactly.

Speaker 2: 6:26

That's not the legacy that I want to leave.

Speaker 1: 6:28

That's not the legacy and that's not what people want from you right, like that. You know, for those of you who have a little semblance of humor and delivery and how you do what you do, even as a HR leader, as somebody at work, you know that people are latching onto that humor and those, because we are, our mind is kind of looking for and really kind of clues in to the anomalies, right, whether you're sitting in a meeting and you'll find that people especially if they know, by the way, the brain seconds senses to like intelligence through humor. When somebody expresses humor, you don't realize that there are maybe you do, but there's actually intelligence there. There's a lot of intersections that are going on. That's why it's so hard to execute it. It's not a place where we basically kind of mind operate so it's a genius place and, like you said, there's just there's so much room for it.

Speaker 1: 7:22

I think building when you go through innovation, you can use it to kind of allow belonging and safety and a team, because you can say, hey, let's kind of talk about this from a crazy point of view and you can. Or a wacky or whimsical or playful or fun place, right, and people can go. Okay, I can talk about things and now I have credence to develop and deliver and innovate and speak my voice, because I've got full license to be funny or to be fun, and that's kind of some of the stuff that needs to happen at work, like you said. You know what I mean. You can't be this separation of personality. In fact, the best places, the best innovation happens when you bring the humor to the workplace, and that happened. When I say innovation, innovation at work, innovation and business ideas, all of it, you know so.

Speaker 2: 8:13

I love that and I think it's fascinating too, because and you use the word permission right, and as I think about our role in human resources we're supposed to be building culture. We're supposed to be driving employee experience. We're supposed to be making a great place to work. If we use humor, then it's like we have given permission right, because we're the we are the people that are trying to drive culture, and so people will look to us.

Speaker 1: 8:44

Oh yeah, Right.

Speaker 2: 8:47

So so, but I think it's. You know, what's interesting about this is we are not trained to do this. In fact, before I hit record, I was telling a story about I literally took a test in college and the answer to the test, or the question, was you know, what should you not use in the workplace? And the right answer was humor. And the rationale was well, it could get misinterpreted, right, somebody might, you know, might land. Wrong, you might offend somebody. And so many of us have really, like, been brought up in this thinking where, like humor is dangerous. Right, like this is like you are in the danger zone. Yeah, you cannot, yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:34

Exactly.

Speaker 2: 9:34

Yeah, did everybody else get that?

Speaker 1: 9:36

Yeah, a little Kenny Loggins going in the head there, right? How do we make this?

Speaker 2: 9:44

That, like I'll be honest, I have not always done a great job managing that. I have guaranteed that I have offended people, because my sense of humor is probably different than a lot of people's sense of humor. But you know, as you are working with your clients, as you are working with organizations that are looking to bring this innovation into their workspace, how do you coach them and guide them on kind of toe in that fine line?

Speaker 1: 10:11

Yeah. So I almost call my humor, like you does, nerdy school of humor and being funny, because I literally do write down this stuff to rubrics and so forth, which is kind of oxymoronic. It's humor, Right, but really the things that I really do teach to this stuff because it is not easy to see it's highly subjective Things about humor that the reason that humor is so successful is because it does a lot to attract and repel and people like to know that, ooh, I got your joke right, ooh, I got your wittiness. So the things I'll teach you about humor, especially for novices and people who are like I'm afraid to pick it up because it's scary is the rubric around why jokes fail and why jokes are successful, and so I'll share this because I think it's a good rubric.

Speaker 1: 10:59

The reason that a joke fails whether you're Kevin Hart and have delivered for years and years, or you're Miles, who's delivered through your work career or somebody who's just kind of coming into the workplace reason jokes fail is number one. There's true offense there. You're ostracizing a person or a community or beliefs that are, or something that's forcing an offense. Second is there's just a cognitive breakdown. I don't understand the joke. Somebody can joke about macros and I'm probably not going to be the first person to pick that joke up and laugh about it and hardy-hard, right. The third piece is that it's just not a relatability there. I understand the joke and I see that you're kind of coining it as a joke, but I don't. You know, somebody would have told me about their first world problems on their mega yacht and the Mediterranean. I'm probably not going to be the first person to laugh at that, right. And so that's kind of that. Hey, I can't relate to that situation, which is also, you're, a rubric for why jokes can be successful, right.

Speaker 1: 12:04

And if you kind of want to play with that and say, hey, I want to think it'd be funny to kind of go around this idea, look for places where you're in common with you, have commonality with the people that you're in the room with, right. Because if you do and you feel like everybody and you feel you know, I will say let's say no, that you can bond everybody. You can bond a bunch of accounting people through gap practices and a funny joke about gap, right, that's humor, right. Or if you can relate to everybody can relate to all. The nuclear physicists can relate to some nuclear physicist joke I'm not even about to go there, but you know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 12:40

Like that's where people can be funny. Or if you yep, you just you make everybody warm and invited to your joke, right, that's the places where humor will be successful. And, kid you not, that's also the places where people are going to remember you can work around. I always say that if you can kind of find that commonality, there's so much that your mind does to say, hey, I like this person, I laugh with them. And I have this cardinal rule where if you can laugh together, you can work together and do great things. It's just, it's just a thing you know.

Speaker 2: 13:11

So I love that and I've got a joke that just kills in a room full of lawyers about indemnification. It, just it gets them every time Right.

Speaker 1: 13:21

Plausible deniability, yeah I don't like that.

Speaker 2: 13:24

I don't know it gets everybody laughing. Yeah, gap gap practices have you heard the one about the actuary?

Speaker 1: 13:32

Yeah, Right, I mean there's just a lot I can't say. I mean, I've been around, you know, because I coached you this stuff. I come through rooms where you there's this common thing that you can find in this and you create a subculture and you create a brand for yourself. And also and you know this, kyle, if you're sitting in a room and you people know that you're coming to the, to the meeting, like they will look forward to your presence, right, I mean, you kind of come with that voice of reason and you also get this permission. Sometimes Some people will find that they can better express themselves when they kind of land in the world of play and they're like okay, this is, this is something playful that I can talk about, right?

Speaker 2: 14:13

So Absolutely All right. So we've got the. So we've got the the. You know tips and tricks on what, what to do to not let jokes fail. What about you know? I'm curious on your perspective On on the stress management piece, because and.

Speaker 2: 14:32

I've said this for years. You know, like, like you know, if, if we didn't laugh in human resources, we'd go crazy, because some of this stuff is just crazy, like, and you just kind of have to laugh because, like it's like I can't even tell, I can't even explain what happened today, cause if I wrote it down and I handed it to a writer to write an episode in Hollywood, they would reject it as as this is not real life, right, but then, but it happens on a regular basis. And so I've always said you've got to have a little bit of a twisted sense of humor to to work in HR, at least for more than a year.

Speaker 1: 15:06

I mean it's, it's, it's one of those things and this is, like you said, everybody's got a lot of anxiety.

Speaker 1: 15:12

I will tell you at the psychological level what's happening when you, you are funny, you look for funny, you kind of find funny.

Speaker 1: 15:22

What's happening at the stress level is you actually emitting cortisol through, I'm just going to say your, your, your mental piping in your brain, you know, I mean um, and that's stress and that's kind of what it kind of yields, this emotion called stress, right, and so when you kind of go to the place of play and people laugh and, um, joke, and you find yourself joking with each other, joking with others, you actually physically shutting that anxiety piping down and you are running through that same channel, um endorphins and um receptors that to some degree bring you to a relaxed state, and that's where brilliance happens, that's where anxiety goes down, that's where a diffusion of really stressful conflict, you know, reduces. So that's that's what's happening at the chemical level, um, and there's a lot of cognition that's going on right, cause I'm just, I'm now like, okay, yes, tell me what you're going to tell me, and I'm, I'm ready to listen or ready to laugh because you, you open, be up with something that um brought some joy to me, you know so.

Speaker 2: 16:28

Yeah, I love that thought. You know thinking about it like a pipeline that you shut down and you allow another type of a hormone to go through that's actually really functionally healthier and better, and I think about it from the concept. I mean, there's been so many times where you know I've been on a meeting. It's been tense and you can tell everybody's stressed out. It's like getting political people are starting to play games or people are getting frustrated and then someone makes some like like joking, it's just like everybody starts laughing.

Speaker 2: 17:02

It's almost like you defuse Totally the room right. Is that what? The experience that you're referring to there? That kind of feeling?

Speaker 1: 17:11

It is. That is absolutely what it is. You can really free engineer this to nut so that if you identify that there's a shift in the dynamic that's going in a negative direction, you can really kind of have your receptors up and go okay, I'm just going to defuse and I'm going to run it, I'm going to run a joke, I'm not going to, you know, maybe I'm not going to make it around anybody, I'm not going to make her on any belief, but I'm going to make it around the situation or the application or the project or something like that, and it just kind of diffuses, as you mentioned, like that, the room. People kind of go, and you know the reason that that's happening is they're like oh my gosh, you're saying kind of that thing that we are all feeling and you're kind of popping that balloon and going everybody's like thank you, thank you for kind of giving us room, you know so.

Speaker 2: 18:01

Absolutely. So, you know, I think one of the other maybe areas that gives us pause on using, you know, human the workplaces is our own, like concern about how we are being perceived, right? So it's like you know, I can't be HR and hold somebody accountable if they think that I am, you know, the class clown or there's like this, this fear of like this, like like how people are perceiving you.

Speaker 2: 18:31

So what guidance or advice do you have, as we are, you know, obviously this is an important tool and it's something that we should be aware of and be thoughtful, but what advice do you have for us on how to use it when it's, you know, when it's kind of appropriate? It doesn't kind of like tarnish the reputation that we're concerned about having.

Speaker 1: 18:49

Yes, Okay, so I use this right. Humor is like salt, right where you don't want to. You don't take a plate of salt and eat it. You don't sit around all day and joke to become the class clown. It doesn't show, it goes in a very different direction. That way I want your humor to kind of have you your self impression to be right, and so you use it kind of poignantly, very specifically for you know, additive to things, right, and don't wallow in it.

Speaker 1: 19:25

I think to some degree today, and if you think about humor, it's real clever, it's real. I'm kind of going, it's pretty directed. You kind of get back at the task of hand. So when you kind of put something funny out there, but then you kind of get back on track, it's like people really watch them. They're like, oh, he did that, she did that, and now we're going back into the land of reality, right, and it's real smart and it just so don't wallow in it, we can't. You don't want to be the class clown and just kind of joke and be known as the person that only brings the jokes. I mean, you certainly want to bring some level of insight and innovation into the efforts that you're kind of engaging in right.

Speaker 1: 20:05

So I always tell people like, please don't show up with just you know, some people who work with me will love this tool set and their optic will be out for humor and and they want to use it a lot. And I'm like, let's, let's not do that. There is some beauty in the novelty of it, right? So that's the piece that I always guide people on. You know is watch how you use it, you know.

Speaker 2: 20:29

Yeah, yeah, that could be dangerous. You know you don't want to, you don't want to tell the bad dad joke in the middle of, you know, firing somebody, right that that might not be the best Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 20:40

Context, right, like understand the room, understand the environment.

Speaker 1: 20:46

I mean you're right, like that is absolutely not the place to play, um, if, if the mission is, you know you've got to do this definitive set of work, right, and you know that this is what I'm heavy stacked and compliance and moving towards this, right, you don't want to kind of even ruin that, um, what I call just kind of what's going on in the actual, the substantive matter of what you're trying to get accomplished, right, I tell people to kind of use it when they're maybe at the top of something where they're about to present, they're proud to seek investment, they're about to ask people to do something, um, that's the place where I tell them hey, this is great use of humor, um, and we guide them. You know, like storytelling that's a huge thing these days. You can be funny and be in story. It's huge, it's crowd, it shows vulnerability. A lot of people you know.

Speaker 1: 21:38

Also, I will say like once they do, they try, try to do humor and there's a fail, they're like I'm never, it's scarlet letter time, they don't want to put it on anymore. Right, I'm not, I'm for shame, never going to speak of humor again. You know that just happens.

Speaker 1: 21:53

You know, and that question comes up in their mind, they're like, okay, never again, right? So it's kind of this thing that there is. There is somewhat of recipes of this stuff that I watch and there's patterns that if you keep your eye out for it and have optic for it, you can watch it and learn and practice. I'm a huge. It's been proven that humor can be something that you develop. You just have to have eye out for it and then you can practice those muscles to kind of execute it more and more you know. So it's it's hard to believe. It's hard to believe, but there is there's truth to that.

Speaker 2: 22:31

So yeah, I mean I think you know, I mean I've been naturally funny my whole life.

Speaker 1: 22:37

So, I don't really know anything about that, but I I for everybody else everyone else, all 97% of us out there, the Grameer mortals that are living in this world, that have no sense of functional humor and can accept it like our famous Kyle Rode, can you know we have to rely on these rearbricks, but you know for so.

Speaker 2: 22:58

I know I'm kidding aside, I think I've been funny my whole life. I can't speak for anybody else, but that's just you know. That's the context.

Speaker 1: 23:07

And the great part is, if you actually break down your humor and and and I've watched your humor, I'm you can probably watch the patterning going on you are a canvassing degree and you're like, hey, there's a need for, or a canvassing or virtual room, right? You're like there's some need for this right now or something, just something, someone insane or kind of crazy just happened. I want to call it out. Right, believe it or not, there's some pattern and there's some, I'll say method to the madness, let's say to your humor, believe it or not. And there is a lot of people's humor and how they show up with it, which is why I know that you can demystify this stuff and why you can train to this and you can use it successfully.

Speaker 2: 23:48

So anyway, I'm going to stop meurting out about that.

Speaker 2: 23:51

But I love that. I think it's really important and I think, from you know the perspective of kind of the corporate world that I operate in there. There, those individuals that resonate, right, that people listen to that. Maybe they're great storytellers, or or or there's, there's individuals within the organizations that have a lot of influence. A lot of times they have that ability and it's not necessarily, it's not always humor, but it's the ability to connect with others in a way that helps them Feel an emotion that is.

Speaker 2: 24:30

That is positive, right, and, and I think a lot of it. Like, all kidding aside, like you know, I've always been able to kind of understand how does it feel right now in the room, right, not everybody is necessarily always like, like, can tell that, but I also enjoy when people are smiling, and so I'm sure that when I was a little kid, I was like, oh, I do this, people laugh and they smile and I like this, right, but it's, it's, it's as simple as that. But for those that that it's not intuitive, for what? What are the? I mean, I guess, what, what are the tactics and strategies that we need to be thinking about as it relates to how do we, how do we formulate humor?

Speaker 2: 25:12

with that muscle right yeah, like how do I do the sit ups that I that I don't know.

Speaker 1: 25:18

Yeah, you know, I mean, I think it's it's somewhat of an identification of your humor style and I will tell you that it's some of it is just Watching what resonates with you with through other comedians right now. That being said, how you execute your and what you find humor is aren't necessarily always the same, right, I could love a humor. I could never be a humor, right. I want to execute as it humor as a me Schumer execute humor right. So I wouldn't feel comfortable, right, but finding what you Finding that within yourself is something that you can do through watching others. I have a lot of little articles on different different people do different styles of humor. Tina Fey, for example, plays a lot into like intelligence and embellishment of little factual details because she's extremely smart. I'm always got a dark humor. That's real popular these days. Kelly Rippa has a lot of lighthearted, kind of up at a humor, if you will, and so You'll find something that kind of gravitates towards you and then also looking for kind of it is somewhat of a level being present, looking for absurdity in like kind of certain situations. Now, that being said, don't call it out right, maybe out of the gate, but just observe it and then kind of maybe talk track in your head like that, how would I, how could I come through? It is a little bit of like I also play, like when people have to start using their humor is getting your eye out for it. And it's like going to the gym and you look at all these machines and you're like you look little her key jerky when you first kind of get into the gym. But after a while these muscles in that muscle memory, that humorous memory, starts to develop in the synapses for In the optic for play and for looking at juxtaposition and the absurdity develop as you kind of have your eye out looking for that stuff. And then I get people like tactile us right, tell a story. Storytelling is like what is great. Exercises where I was able to tell people pretty story in your back pocket. Tell it to yourself in the mirror, embellish it with some level of your funny, tell it to people that know you and can kind of Understand you and see where your funny kind of land, so you can play it off others who you should like earn a safe space. If you don't feel comfortable doing by yourself, like simple, I'll tell you like how I'm like you. I used it as some of the survival skills I was growing up and you just believe or not, it's so innate to your brain, it's not, it's not right, and so that's, that's a thing, that when you're trying to practice, that's a great place to play.

Speaker 1: 28:00

Yeah, the other thing is like I, with teams, mechanically, like I'll tell you, with HR teams, we do these fun videos. People love number one, the notion of a Hollywood moment. That's like oh my gosh. People get the glam out and go because we're like I'm going to do videos. But you get with the team and you kind of find that funny. That's kind of persist in the team. Sometimes it's through music, sometimes it's sort of funny, you know weeding theme of somebody's Angela in the office, somebody's whatever, you know. You can kind of joke about that and find that some kind of subculture within your own team and then kind of cultivate that self expression and that helps you find that place is funny, for you find that place is funny amongst your unit and your team. So is that helpful or yeah, yeah, I think it's.

Speaker 2: 28:45

You know from from my standpoint, I I do think a lot of it's about kind of knowing your audience, right, yes, and? And as HR professionals, we should wish who should would know the team better than we do, right, like we should. Right, we should be in tune with this. So, you know, we should be able to use humor in a way that makes sense. But I think, you know, from, from just a personal standpoint, I also think that, like, finding humor Truly finding humor in the day to day is just really powerful, right? Yes, you know, if we take ourselves too seriously, you know, I just think we're going to go crazy, and I call it so. The other day I had a conversation with, with, with one of my friends, and they were like why do you look so, so angry? And I'm like what are you talking about? They're like you're scowling right now. I'm like, no, that's just that. I'm just I'm thinking. And they're like well, I hope you don't do that from the team. And there's like oh no, it's just rest.

Speaker 2: 29:55

It's like resting HR face right.

Speaker 1: 29:57

You gotta be mindful. It's so true. I mean, we, we, we really do need to operate in a place to play. It does so much for us. We really do need to operate in a place to play. It does so much for your mind. It does so much for your how you tackle problems, you know.

Speaker 2: 30:14

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 30:15

The physicality of humor and just coming in with a lighthearted attitude and just even self expression and just the cerebral aspect of it or so, and if you can get yourself there and again it sometimes for many of us, especially for in this anxiety state a lot of times it's it just takes a little bit of shift and movement and you can practice and get better at it every day and your eye, you'd be shocked, your eye for humor, if you kind of look out for it, will improve. Your vision Will improve with time, you know so.

Speaker 2: 30:47

So it's OK to be funny, it's OK to have fun and ultimately it's actually good for the organization, right?

Speaker 1: 30:53

It's good for the organization, it's good for you, it's good for the team. I really think there's a room for playing with this in the world of HR. That being said, you can play with it in in your confines, in a safe place. We talked about the field of humor and then also, you know, but there's also a time and place for it, right? So, good humor, bad humor, practice around that and you'll really, you'll find your safe space and I'll tell you, man, when you get to the place where things are safe and you can be funny, it's highly efficient You'll be shocked what happens with you know, I will say, life is life is short, work is long and humor is efficient.

Speaker 1: 31:33

Right, you will get things done when you use this stuff. So magical things get done, right, you, we can sit here and we can joke about an idea and go to the land of absurdity, but then, behind that, we can come back and we can talk about something really serious and kind of move along. And there's so much implication there because I'm now feeling safe to express any mode, right, and that comes from conditions of like, like you said, kind of operating on the daily with some levity every day, you know so.

Speaker 2: 32:03

Absolutely, absolutely. So HR can be funny. All right, that's what I'm thinking.

Speaker 1: 32:10

It's okay. It's okay, it's okay, it can happen.

Speaker 2: 32:16

Gita. Thank you so much. It's been an amazing conversation. We're gonna switch gears. We're gonna go into the Rebel HR flash round. Are you ready? Yes, sir, all right, here we go. Question number one where does HR need to rebel?

Speaker 1: 32:31

With use of humor, finding the funny within themselves. Right, I think there's room for it. Don't be scared of it. Don't turn it off. Listen to it.

Speaker 2: 32:41

I couldn't agree more. You know, one of these days and I'm just gonna put out a call and ask for all of the names and organizations to be left confidential. But you know, we could write a book, a joke book, just based upon all of the things that we have to deal with and I've got at least the first 120 pages, just based on the last couple of years. But you know, people are funny Like this is good.

Speaker 1: 33:07

Let's see, you see what else left? Right, you can't make this joke like they say right.

Speaker 2: 33:12

So yeah, it's like you know the show, the office or the movie office space, like essentially it's like we are in that right now and it's just, it's a documentary, not a comedy, right? So if we treat like that, then, yeah, we all should be left.

Speaker 1: 33:31

Yeah, I agree, 100% right. And yeah, you have to be. And people are people. People laugh. Last I checked, 97% of us laugh, so I love it.

Speaker 2: 33:43

I love it All right. Question number two who should we be listening to?

Speaker 1: 33:48

Yeah, I think you know. So this is kind of a little bit of a departure from, maybe, the conventional answer. But number one yourself and you're funny within, just open your mind to that stuff, and there's some art stuff going on there. And then the second piece is that listen to people that you find funny, I kid you not.

Speaker 1: 34:07

I ask people and I would challenge all of you to do this. If you're listening, watch something funny in the middle of the day. Just kind of give yourself five minutes, go to YouTube or whatever it may be, and just watch something and see how that changes the structure of your day or how you're gonna tackle something. Or if you're having a mental block or you're just like you're having an exciting code subtext maybe not so exciting time in your life, whether it's your day go there and you'll be shocked what happens.

Speaker 2: 34:36

So I would encourage people to kind of look at funny stuff, yeah absolutely I agree and I probably not great at this like breaking up my day and like having like mental breaks, like that. But I don't know, I think about it like the other day I was traveling, I was at an airport and I saw someone with the name tag Aaron. Immediately I was like Aaron, period, yeah right, so thank you. So shout out to Key and Peele. But it's like stuff like that and it's just like oh yeah, okay, we can laugh, let's go back to having fun, even though I'm waiting on the plane to get here, Exactly, right?

Speaker 1: 35:18

I mean, being these people, it actually brings joy to that other person. Probably, whatever person you joke around with, they probably think it's hilarious, right? I mean there's a lot of room for don't be shy and bashful about it. It's such a great place for connectivity. Your future friends are waiting for you in humor, so you know as an example.

Speaker 2: 35:38

So here, like, I will literally do this on a regular basis. So we have so my team. I'm very fortunate to work in an international organization, so I get to work with a lot of people from different cultures that don't have like the pop culture knowledge that I did, because they didn't grow up in the same time or country that I did. But I love to like, go like, get a clip of, like the office or like some random meme that I just think is hilarious and share it with them and then just like, like, watch them, like, like, laugh for the first time, like authentically. It's something that that's probably just completely stupid, because that's my version of humor.

Speaker 1: 36:14

No, it's not. I mean it's not a wrong thing. I mean you are actually sending signal to them. That number one, this is funny to me. I want you to find. Do you find funny? You're actually kind of believe or not at the what's the word? At the I don't know, but the basic level of human chemistry you're trying to find like do you find this funny? Cause, if you find this funny, like we can connect on, like not that it's a premise thing, but like let's try to, you know, let's try to connect together.

Speaker 1: 36:42

There's a lot of I can really nerd out on humor, but it is one of those things that even at the tribal level, when we were, you know, developing as people, that was. It's something really deeply built into the recesses of the human brain. So there is some intelligence to this place that we we sometimes see as silly and childish and unuseful or just not in Denise, not being in the context of things that are serious, work is all business. Never the twain shall meet. Like that there's. That's not true, you know. So, just like you said, I mean there's a lot to it. I love that.

Speaker 2: 37:24

It's funny and I just had like kind of a light bulb moment, like I'm doing this just because I think it's funny, but in every meeting where I do it, there's at least one other person that like that is like in on the joke, right. And so then it's like and then it's like this community of people who are like like if they don't get it, they're explaining it and they're and everybody's laughing Like oh, I remember when I was I saw that for the first time I was this old and I was doing this and this was like you know, and it's kind of like a community building thing and it's like they're in on the joke, you're in on the joke, and then you let other people in on the joke, and then it's like now we've got this tribe of people that get it. Yes, Right.

Speaker 2: 38:04

And yeah, so it's. Yeah, it's just set a light bulb moment there it is.

Speaker 1: 38:08

That's that inclusion, Eleanor, right, Like we've all got it, but then we also have this belief that there's a whole, vast majority of people that don't get it. So now we're in this community where we're jamming and we're vibing together and we're laughing right. People want to feel like they're in in this kind of I don't know just kind of this cocoon of belongingness with each other, and humor is a great way to do that, you know. So.

Speaker 2: 38:32

I love it All. Right. Last question. So just just amazing stuff and, and you know, we've just barely scratched the surface on some of the work that you do. So how can our listeners learn more, connect with you and keep their humor bone or funny bone alive?

Speaker 1: 38:48

Yeah, yeah, they're humor. I call their like humor maximum. They're humorous maximums. Muscle-legers no well. And so LinkedIn. Linkedin is kind of the place. If you just under LinkedIn, google, get a company, look me up, I'm there. I'd love to claim I could be on many other places. And the next big social media thing, but it's just hard. I you know you, every two businesses, one is vastly different from this one, which is technology implementation. So I've kind of got to pick and choose a lane. So find me on LinkedIn. I give tips there. You know you want to dance your time. I'm pretty. I'm pretty. I'm pretty pointed about little things that I give out there when I would give tips. So it's a great place for you to watch and find little tips on how to use this stuff and get control with it.

Speaker 2: 39:35

Absolutely, and we will have. We will have those links in the in the show notes. Check it out. It's great stuff and find a little humor in your day. Hr here here, Thank you so much. Thank you so much for spending some time with us and for sharing a little bit of humor with us today.

Speaker 1: 39:55

For sure Kyle Enjoyed it. Thanks.

Speaker 2: 39:59

All right, that does it for the Rebel HR podcast. Big thank you to our guests. Follow us on Facebook at Rebel HR podcast, twitter at rebelhrguy, or see our website at rebelhumanresourcescom. The views and opinions expressed by Rebel HR podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any of the organizations that we represent. No animals were harmed during the filming of this podcast.

Speaker 1: 40:29

Maybe,