How Funny Are You?

Humor is an important part of any workplace, and a good joke is sure to
lighten the moody of even the dreariest office. Microsoft so values humor that
they’ve created a competency
chart so that employees can be judged on their funniness.

I’m all for having a good time at work, as having a positive atmosphere at
the office leads to better production and happier employees. Quantifying humor
on the other hand may have the opposite effect. Humor is often impromptu and
situational, and by placing a rigid system around it you detract from what made
it enjoyable in the first place. Here is Microsoft’s suggestion for improving
your funny ability:

“Being funnier. There are some basic humor tactics. Use exaggeration,
use reversal, be brief. Cut out unnecessary words. Humor condenses the
essential elements of a situation, just as good writing does. If the time of
day or the color of the sky or city it happened in is not relevant, leave it
out. Be on the lookout for the ridiculous around you. Jot down funny things
that happen around you so you can remember them.”

Is jotting down something funny that happened really going to help someone
move up to the next humor level? Reading an anecdote from your trip to the
grocery store last week won’t be funny, in fact, it will probably send the
message that you’re trying too hard. I understand that Micrsoft is using this
example as a way to load up on funny ammunition, but I feel that it’s taking a
step in the wrong direction. Once you begin to quantify something, you open the
door for judgment. Just as sales are measured and efficiency analyzed, it may
not be long before employees are racing to raise their humor competency in
order to increase their statistical appeal.

I’m interested to hear what other people think about this. Should humor be
quantified? Should employees be judged on their ability to be funny?