As much as possible I try to make things fun for people around me.
For example today my laundry service is going to pick up my clothes. I don’t have a washer in my apartment and so having a laundry service is a nice luxury and necessity. Instead of just texting him to say something boring I always put it in rhyme. Today was “My laundry is ready the day is young, isn’t this life lots of fun?”
People have drudgery in their lives and when you can bring a moment of laughter or fun they really appreciate that. Coworkers have told me that they appreciate my sense of humor and it helps the day pass easier at work. Humor can be a bit dangerous so I understand why many people are not funny at work.
There is a time and a place for fun. I always consider the situation before I am funny. Is this a time when it is appropriate? Do the people I am with appreciate this or see it as a bother? Incredibly you can be funny and people will complain because they don’t think it is professional. Other times your manager is a humorless person and your humor is wasted when you are funny with people who don’t have a sense of humor.
For example, I had one boss who said that he should be funnier based on how well his coworkers responded to my sense of humor. You can improve the culture of the company just by being who you are. Of course, not every culture wants to be efficient and social and that is ok. You can’t force humor on others. If they don’t appreciate it, you move on and don’t be funny with them again. Different strokes for different folks.
One of the signs for me of a culture that isn’t for me is when the hiring manager or interview is with someone who seems humorless. Listen I know they want to get facts and do their job, but you can be human and kind and interview as well. In fact, the best interviewers acted like they were my friend and I had no problem easily sharing whatever they wanted to know. The more formal and stiff you make interviews, the less useful information you will get out of them. That is a fact.
It’s okay if companies are humorless and stiff. I still survived. I just wasn’t as excited to engage and no interpersonal social connections were formed. That decreased productivity but if that’s the company’s culture, so be it.