Having the ability to make people laugh will bolster your career, studies show. But it can also backfire spectacularly.
The night before Dick Costolo took over as Twitter’s head of operations in 2009, he famously tweeted: "First full day as Twitter COO tomorrow. Task #1: Undermine CEO, consolidate power." Within a year, he did ended up as CEO. Not through undermining his predecessor, but by using humour in building great relationships in the business and by being a great communicator.
Laughter is a powerful force in business. There is extensive research proving the benefits of incorporating humour in the office: