We all need more laughter in our lives. Unfortunately, the modern workplace treats laughter the same way it treats proper documentation. Everyone agrees it’s important, but it’s not in the budget. And it’s in even shorter supply if you are unwillingly unemployed.
Laughing on the job
How much do you laugh at work?
People enter the software industry for many reasons. Some like problem‑solving. Some think it pays well. And a few delusional youngsters believe it will be like playing computer games. They learn the truth quickly.
Even if you like your job and your colleagues, you’ll probably agree that software development is not a barrel of laughs. It’s often a barrel of Jira tickets and code review comments.
I asked Google/Gemini about fun jobs, and got a wide range of debatable answers. Dental technicians? Event planners? Social workers were in the list of both the best jobs and the worst jobs. One article claimed that software development is the 4th happiest job.
Two jobs did stand out:
- Professional sleepers are paid to sleep on the job. They test mattresses, pillows, and room lighting, to compare comfort.
- Panda sitting is a coveted job at breeding centers in China. People are paid to play with baby pandas.
Neither job would pay for petrol these days. But if anyone has a kitten sitter vacancy, I’ll buy a bicycle and a helmet.
Laughter on demand
If you aren’t laughing enough, you can try Laughter Yoga. Yes, this is a real thing. It combines deep breathing with forced laughter. It claims to reduce stress, and promote mental calmness and positivity. We definitely need that.
You must be trained as a Laughter Leader. Imagine that job title on your LInkedIn profile. There are different laughter exercises for different groups: schools, corporates, seniors, people with special needs. Who knew that laughter is not one‑size‑fits‑all? I wonder what exercises work for developers.
You can attend corporate laughter workshops. I can see the need. I can also see the horror. Imagine your CIO trying to “ho‑ho‑ho” their way through staff cuts.
The good news: you don’t have to feel like laughing. It’s a case of “fake it till you make it”. You fake it until your body believes you. It’s a bit like enthusiasm for town hall meetings, although I’m not sure people get past the fake it part.
You can find a YouTube video and try this on your own. But make sure you are alone. If anyone hears you, they might think you have finally snapped from all the work stress.
Laughter by prompt
Struggling to laugh as an exercise? Can AI help?
Short (and long) answer: No.
I watched a video about how AI learns about knock-knock jokes. It was interesting, but not amusing. AI doesn’t think, doesn’t feel, and doesn’t understand humour. It just imitates patterns. Does it have enough training to make us laugh?
I asked ChatGPT for some jokes about AI, including knock-knock jokes. They were not funny.
Co-pilot did slightly better – but only slightly. You might need alcohol first.
How many AIs does it take to change a lightbulb?
Just one—but it’ll hallucinate the bulb, mislabel it as a toaster, and confidently explain how it works.
What’s the difference between an AI and a toddler?
The toddler eventually stops repeating everything you say.
(There were a few versions of this, but that didn’t stop Co-Pilot repeating everything I typed.)
The inventor of autocorrect died.
The funnel will be held tomato.
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Password.
Password who?
Password expired. Please create a new punchline with 12 characters, a number, and a symbol.
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Stack.
Stack who?
Stack overflowed — punchline terminated unexpectedly.
On the darker side, I found this one:
What’s the difference between AI and a cult?
One promises to change your life, knows everything about you, asks for your complete trust and slowly replaces your relationships. The other has a compound.
None of those are laugh-out-loud jokes. South Africans are excellent at creating humour under pressure — think of all the load-shedding jokes. If you come across any genuinely funny AI jokes, please share them. I could do with a laugh.