Although the success of your business is no laughing matter, infusing humor into your office may be just what you need to succeed. Chris Roberts, assistant professor of management at the University of Missouri, is an expert on the subject of humor at work. His studies, published in Research in Personnel and Human Resource Management, state that offices that promote a healthy sense of humor see enormous benefits. He goes as far as to recommend that employers look for a sense of humor when interviewing job candidates, citing a correlation between humor and intelligence.

A Family that Laughs Together

Shared humor and laughter creates bonds between employees. Wisconsin professor Stu Robertshaw, known as Dr. Humor, holds seminars on the subject of humor at work. He cites a study that shows that introducing humor into an office environment decreased turnover by more than 20 percent. Employees who have fun at work are harder to woo away to new jobs. Robertshaw also says that humor filled offices see a 30 percent decrease in the "Friday Flu" or early-weekend absenteeism.

Doctor's Orders

Believe it or not, humor might even make your office healthier. There are physiological benefits associated with humor and laughter. Both have been shown to produce almost immediate positive changes in our bodies. A good laugh can do everything from lower blood pressure to produce endorphins. In today's stressful business environments this simple stress reducer might be a boss's best friend.

No Laughing Matter

Problems can arise when humor is used to mask insults or when jokes are made at another's expense. But even if an insult is hiding in humor, the problem is not the humor; the problem is the employee throwing the less-than-funny jabs.

Get the Punch Line

So with all this joking around is there any work getting done? The answer is yes. Roberts' studies have also shown that employee productivity increases in environments infused with humor. So when it comes to your team, be the one who gets the last laugh. Keep your employees smiling and your company may just laugh all the way to the bank.