My initial thought was that I didn't like that prescription. But I'd like to know _why_ the author thinks "joke less, laugh less" would help with divisiveness.
I'm not the author, but I was in a Teams chat with my manager and another guy (that we needed help from). The other says something, my manager posts a huge frowny face with no context and the other guy kinda disengaged from the conversation. Privately, I reached out to both. I told my manager their reaction was harsh. My manager said "I was joking, they knew I was joking". The other guy said "I worked hard on that, the negative reaction was completely unwarranted." In the end, I was able to smooth things over, but I wonder if we could've finished up sooner or if my manager cashed in a little too much good will because of a dumb emoji.
I guess the point is, it's not always clear what is a joke (or by extension, what, or who, is being laughed at).
I've been able to laugh and joke around with people I work with from all over the globe (literally), its one of the most valuable tools I have found to create a sense of ease of friendliness in the workplace. Self deprecating humor is also a great way to show that you don't take yourself to serious and to ease tensions when divisiveness may arise. I think the better suggestion is to not talk about politics and don't gossip.
doesn't 'divisive' generally mean to divide, as in separate into opposing factions? What you're describing seems more like 'diversity', which is pretty different I think.
Since it's included with "gossip" I assume it's to avoid insulting people (intentionally or accidentally), but suggesting that humor is off limits entirely is an outrageous over-correction.
Ironically I think the author has included an incredibly divisive opinion in a post about being less divisive, and has therefore dissolved any authority on the matter.
It didn't suggest any such thing though. It said joke and laugh less. It didn't forbid them.
Humor that doesn't offend can be hard to pull off. If you crack jokes regularly, odds are high some of them will be offensive.
Most people are quick to assume you are laughing at them, not with them. So if you are laughing a lot at work, odds are good someone will take that as mocking, as disrespect, as you not being adequately serious about the job.
If you are careful with humor, you can do good things with it. People who joke habitually are probably not being careful with it.
Most jokes build on shared context, therefore jokes are inherently exclusionary and discriminatory by excluding people without the shared context. Avoiding most humor is thus a good idea.
dfxm12|3 years ago
I guess the point is, it's not always clear what is a joke (or by extension, what, or who, is being laughed at).
electric_mayhem|3 years ago
Had a coworker who would routinely make jokes assuming alignment with his own extremist political preferences and it was uncomfortable like whoa.
jimmyjazz14|3 years ago
tetraca|3 years ago
micromacrofoot|3 years ago
hprotagonist|3 years ago
gonzo41|3 years ago
narag|3 years ago
If avoiding "divisiveness" needs killing jokes and laugh, welcome divisiveness, whatever it is.
In my mind, I translate "divisive" as "doesn't think like I do" so it makes total sense to like it.
allannienhuis|3 years ago
micromacrofoot|3 years ago
Ironically I think the author has included an incredibly divisive opinion in a post about being less divisive, and has therefore dissolved any authority on the matter.
DoreenMichele|3 years ago
Humor that doesn't offend can be hard to pull off. If you crack jokes regularly, odds are high some of them will be offensive.
Most people are quick to assume you are laughing at them, not with them. So if you are laughing a lot at work, odds are good someone will take that as mocking, as disrespect, as you not being adequately serious about the job.
If you are careful with humor, you can do good things with it. People who joke habitually are probably not being careful with it.
tyrfing|3 years ago