“Make it Fun” has been a practice of the 12Stone staff for many years. Humor and laughter have always been only a few steps down the hall or a few minutes away (even in our sermons). But I confess that I haven’t always been a fan of frivolity in the workplace. Sometimes, it just seems to be an excuse to avoid real work.
But that perspective changed for me this week.
On Monday, I went with a friend of mine to Emory Hospital for a very serious procedure. My friend was getting a PET scan and CT scan for a newly discovered cancer in his mouth. I didn’t want him to be alone, and the hospital graciously allowed me to sit with him in the room while waiting for the radioactive injection to spread throughout his body so that the machines could do their work.
However, the tone of the entire event changed when Eric (the radiology technician) walked into the room. Within minutes, he had us both rolling in laughter, and he managed to keep us laughing every time he walked into the room.
“I hope I’m doing this right (the injection). It’s my first day, but I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and I think I’ve figured out how to assemble all these little tubes and needles.”
“I’m really sorry about your wife. I put her into the CT machine and this old man came out the other side.”
“I appreciate your patience with me. Most people are pretty upset when they hear that I flunked out of my rehab program.”
Okay, maybe his style of humor isn’t your cup of tea. But it spoke to our hearts. We felt like we were walking through a difficult moment with a friend–one who cared enough to try to lighten the burden and keep us from thinking about the real reason we were there.
If humor can make that much of a difference in the hospital, then surely it can make an impact in our day-to-day work! Let’s incorporate having fun into every project, task and job. There is no reason that work shouldn’t be something we can enjoy.
Just don’t forget to keep working while you’re having fun.
