Why your jokes fall flat

“It’s just a joke” does not stack up as a defence for sexual or sexist sentiments. Jokes can frequently upset and offend.

Marginalised groups can become targets for humour, so be sensitive to this.

If it would embarrass you to have your joke told to your boss, senior colleagues or printed on the front page of a newspaper and attributed to you, then it is probably not a good joke to tell at work. Just because you think it is funny does not mean others will too. Try to see joking and quips from someone else’s perspective – especially if they are a different gender or sexual persuasion or have different values than you. A sexual or sexist joke may incite a lot of mirth, but is never a good idea at work, even when you know your colleagues well. It may be overheard or repeated and is likely to cause offence. Sexual or sexist jokes shared via email can cause a lot of distress and can be easily circulated. Avoid this practice. Company sexual harassment policies need to consider humour. One person’s “joke” is harassment to someone else.

Just because people are laughing does not mean they all like the joke or the sentiments in the joke. People may laugh from embarrassment or social pressure and politeness while actually feeling offended and upset.

From LAUGH OUT LOUD: A user’s guide to workplace humor, by Barbara Plester and Kerr Inkson, soon to be published by Palgrave Macmillan.