Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “a sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” Busy spa professionals are leaders who must get along with people all day long and get a lot of things done! Humor could be the secret to a more effective, efficient, and fun work day. WHY IS HUMOR IMPORTANT Laughter and humor is one of the first emotions we experience as babies. As we get older, the amount of times we laugh decreases. Adults laugh, on average, about 15 times a day, as compared to a 4-year-old who laughs once every four minutes.1 Regaining the confidence and comfort to embrace humor, especially at work, is important. Laughter gives us dozens of benefits, including reduced muscle tension, stimulated cardiovascular system, increased oxygen intake, reduced blood pressure, lowered heart rate, and boosted endorphins. Some of the mental and emotional benefits are: relief of anxiety, distress, anger, and depression; feeling of well-being, empowerment, and control; positive attitude, hope, energy, and self-esteem; and a coping mechanism. Laughter can also act as a buffer in emotionally-charged situations. Laughing can break up tension in the moment and allow us to step back and take a new perspective on the situation. Hollywood even acknowledged the importance of humor to well-being in clinical settings with the blockbuster, “Patch Adams.” A few of the workplace benefits are: 91 percent of executives believe a sense of humor is important for career advancement; 84 percent feel that people with a good sense of humor do a better job1; and a good sense of humor is the second most desirable trait in leaders1. Studies have shown that happier employees are more satisfied in their roles and provide better customer service, which leads to more revenue, more satisfied and loyal clients, and, ultimately, better profit. Incorporating humor at the spa, even in small ways, can increase employee happiness, engagement, and overall work success. WAYS TO INFUSE HUMOR AT WORK Here are six simple ways that actual spas are using to infuse humor into the workplace. Start every meeting with a silly image, joke or pun to get a chuckle out of the team. Decorate events with inexpensive but unexpected props like balloons, glitter, bubbles or rubber ducks. Celebrate a staff member’s success by showering the team member with confetti. Fold a towel in a creative shape, like a heart or flower and place it on the treatment table. Share funny, real-life stories with the team. Choose a comedy club or funny movie for the next team-building event. A few other ideas from spas include coordinating a flash mob video to share on YouTube or tucking a photo of a popular celebrity under the massage table blanket. Just imagine a client bursting into laugher when they pull back the covers of the table to find a sexy picture of Channing Tatum or Cameron Diaz! HOW HUMOR POSITIVELY IMPACTS BUSINESS What impact will laughter have on have clients and revenue? First and foremost, a happier team is more productive. Raising employee happiness raises productivity between seven and 12 percent.3 Engaged employees are: customer focused, more creative at work, healthier and take less sick leave, mindful about the future, committed to exhibit greater effort, proud of the company, and inspired to do their best. Ultimately, happier and more engaged staff members are motivated to be the best for their clients and spa guests. Spa guests who are experiencing “the best” that a service provider has to give are sure to feel more satisfied with their treatment, form a connection with that therapist, and become a loyal client. A study distributed by Hewitt Associates reports that companies with high levels of engagement outperformed the total stock market index and posted shareholder returns 19 percent higher than average.5 Knowing that humor can benefit not only business, but physical, mental, and emotional health is all the more reason to start incorporating funny moments throughout the day. Start by writing down a few ideas to make coworkers laugh. And remember, if Plan A fails, there are 25 letters left. Have you successfully infused humor into your workplace? What impact has it had on your clients and staff or co-workers? Tell us in the comments below. References 1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/05/03/10-reasons-why-humor-is-a-key-to-success-at-work/#2d6dd1a25c90 2 http://web.extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/weekly/120828.html 3 https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf 4 https://www.inc.com/peter-cohan/6-things-super-successful-companies-have-in-common.html 5 http://www.aon.com/chile/attachments/2017-Trends-in-Global-Employee-Engagement.pdf 6 https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/life-at-work/how-employee-engagement-can-boost-the-bottom-line/article21875491/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com& Boldijarre Koronczay, president of Eminence Organic Skin Care, is an icon of the spa industry. Having personally trained over a quarter of a million professionals in the past two decades, his humorous and entertaining presentation style, combined with first class education and Hungarian-inspired treatment techniques, make his Master Classes a crowd favorite at every industry event. His passion for the industry drives him to continue personally educating at trade events, sharing his enthusiasm, inspiration, and knowledge at every session. Koronczay is a survivor of childhood Leukemia, inspiring Eminence Organics to introduce Eminence Kids Foundation, a philanthropic initiative which provides thousands of nutritious, organic meals to seriously ill children in North America and Europe. Want to read more? Subscribe to one of our monthly plans to continue reading this article.