Off-color office humor: Hard to handle? (That’s what she said)

In my company, we have a very high tolerance for the low brow.

Fart jokes are de rigeur.

Sophomoric humor is considered hilarious.

Basically, it’s like being in junior high again. (You know, without the hormones and humiliation. Mostly.)

And, you know what? Deadlines are met, work gets done, and the day goes by just a little bit faster.

Totally office appropriate!

Not that I’m advocating sexual harassment or making coworkers feel uncomfortable. But a little laughter goes a long way. Face it: It’s hard out there. (That’s what she said.) It seems like every other day, more people are being laid off. Baby boomers can’t afford to retire. And college graduates are having trouble finding jobs and are forced to move back in with their parents. If we couldn’t make jokes, we’d all be headed out the window right now…

And I work on the 10th floor.

Anyway, as long as all of your staff and coworkers find it funny, why not joke around. As long as you don’t cross the line so far that you offend someone. The point is to make everyone enjoy themselves in the office, not feel uncomfortable.

Unless, of course, they’re feeling uncomfortable because they ate too much Mexican for lunch.

Then you have my permission to laugh.

What do you think about off-color jokes in the office? Would you be offended? And just how far is too far in the working world?

Jessica Livingston
Managing Editor
jessica.livingston@e-bim.com