 Jobs@Pertemps News January 2002
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POLITICAL CORRECTNESS PUTS PAID TO OFFICE JOKES
Office pranksters like Colin from The Fast Show are becoming a thing of the past in the British workplace, according to new research from Pertemps, the country's leading independent recruitment agency.
The research, conducted among 700 office workers, found that more than half (54 per cent) were worried about telling jokes for fear of being accused of sexual or racial discrimination.
Almost two thirds (63 per cent) admitted to censoring jokes they told at work in order to avoid causing offence.
Sixty one per cent of respondents claimed political correctness had put paid to the days of the office prankster and bemoaned the fact that the workplace was becoming too serious.
Twenty six per cent of women said they had played a practical joke on their boss, compared to 19 per cent of men. However, all of those questioned admitted to being selective about who they told a joke to at work.
The majority of respondents felt that humour in the office had a positive effect on performance at work. Eighty per cent felt more motivated and two thirds said humour improved morale.
Fake memos, telephone calls and messages over PA systems were listed as being the easiest practical jokes to play in the workplace. However 42 per cent of those questioned felt that using email for a prank was the easiest way to get caught because the message is stored electronically.
Tim Watts, Pertemps Chairman, said: "People are not sure where to draw the line when telling jokes these days and as a result many people are simply not telling them anymore. This is a shame because people often feel more motivated if they work in a relaxed environment, and happy staff equal a happy company, which in turn is good for any business. The difficulty for many people these days is striking the right balance
"We advise staff to stop and think about the joke they are going to tell or the prank they are going to set up and decide who it might offend before going ahead. Employers need to make sure that staff are happy and that working relationships don't suffer as a consequence of a colleague's humour."
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