This is as long as the humor is used for the right purpose. The main point of it should be motivating people─not mocking them. 'Anything that would lift morale in terms of the company would be good humor,' says Thierry Guedj, a professor of business and psychology at Boston University. 'Before you say or do anything, think about, 'How is this helping my employees' morale?'' Unlike when Michael Scott makes jokes on 'The Office' ('He gets people demotivated,' Dr. Guedj says), you want to boost the staff's confidence and increase its solidarity.

　　只要幽默用对了地方就能达到这样的效果。其重点应当在于给人以激励，而不是嘲笑。波士顿大学商务和心理学教授Thierry Guedj说，只要能提升公司的士气，那就是好的幽默。在你说或做任何事之前，想想“这样对员工的士气有什么帮助？不要像斯科特(Michael Scott)在情景剧《办公室的故事》(The Office)里开玩笑那样（Guedj说，他就是在给其他人泄气），而应当提高员工的信心、增进团结。

　　You want to give your employees and co-workers a sense of belonging, so don't make observations that are aggressive, sarcastic or alienating. 'Avoid anything that stereotypes people,' Dr. Guedj says. Most obviously, he says, don't make comments about people's ethnicity, physical appearance, sexual preference or faith. An easy check for what to do or say in murkier territory: If you have any doubt it's appropriate, don't go through with it.

　　你得让员工和同事有归属感，因此不要说具有攻击性、讽刺挖苦或是挑拨离间的话。Guedj说，要避免对人们带有成见的言论。最显著的是，不要评论他人的种族、长相、性取向或宗教信仰。对于不太明确的领域什么该说什么不该说，有一个简易的衡量方法：如果你对自己想说或者想做的存在疑问，那就不要做。