A Portrait of Laughter
It was a song. A mere song belting out from a neighborhood shop I was walking past.“wooo,, I hear laughter in the rain walking down hand in hand with the one I love…”. With such a unisex singing voice, it was unmistakably Neil Sedaka.
For good measure, I located this song on U-tube and I must say it has a catchy beat to it.
Laughter in the rain is a delinquent indulgence but laughter in the office is a different thing entirely. And when you examine the truth behind it, it can be scary.
How much do you laugh at work? You may say not much since work is not particularly funny. But if there is a way to measure how often you laugh in the office, you might be surprised because we laugh a lot more than we think we do. Laughter at work has no association with being amusing, with joking or fun of any sort. It is an extension of office politics and the stroking order.
If a COE or president on an official visit were to make the feeblest pleasantry, it evokes convulses from everyone near and far within hearing distance. We are not even remotely amused yet we laugh out of nervousness. He is a powerful figure within the organization.
A newly appointed COE had the bright ides of breaking ice with his subordinates and suggested everyone should tell a joke after a meal. Far from being a cheery bonding session, it created more ice only this time frizzier and the occasion turned out to be an evening of the unbearable lightness of being. As you can expect, some jokes got big laughs and some fell flat. As a rule of the thumb, if people listen to you and laugh at your jokes, you’re getting somewhere. If not, then you’re not.
In conclusion, laughter is part of office politics. It happens everywhere and every day. Will you not laugh without thinking when you boss makes a joke? Never mind how silly the supposed joke is. It is no coincidence that the more senior he is, the greater your he-ha-he-ha. It shows that you understand the system, never mind the hypocrisy of laughter.
posted by Victor Lai @ 4:35 PM
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