Examples of Humor for Workplace Stress Relief: 3 Fun Examples (Plus a Few More)

1. The “Monday Meme Drop” – A Simple Example of Humor for Workplace Stress Relief

Let’s start with one of the easiest examples of humor for workplace stress relief: the Monday Meme Drop.

Here’s how it works in real life: every Monday, someone on the team posts a work-appropriate meme or funny GIF in a dedicated chat channel. That’s it. No pressure to be a comedian, no stand-up routine—just a small, shared laugh to kick off the week.

A marketing team I worked with turned this into a rotating ritual. Each week, a different person was “Meme Captain.” Their only job was to post something funny related to deadlines, coffee dependency, or Zoom mishaps. People started looking forward to it the way you look forward to your first cup of coffee.

Why it helps: humor like this creates a tiny mental reset. Research shows that positive emotions, including amusement, can reduce the physical effects of stress and help people recover more quickly after stressful events. The Mayo Clinic notes that laughter can stimulate circulation and relax muscles, which may help ease tension caused by stress (Mayo Clinic).

The best examples of this practice are:

• Quick to consume (no 10-minute videos)
• Inclusive (no jokes about politics, identity, or anything punching down)
• Optional (no one is forced to participate)

Over time, this small example of humor for workplace stress relief can become a low-effort ritual that signals: “We’re allowed to be human here.”

2. “Stress Relief Status Updates” – Turning Check-Ins Into 3 Fun Examples of Humor

Status meetings are where joy goes to die—unless you redesign them.

One of my favorite examples of humor for workplace stress relief: at the start of a weekly check-in, everyone shares their status using a playful scale instead of the usual “fine” or “busy.” For example:

• “On a scale from 1 to ‘my inbox is a dumpster fire,’ where are you today?”
• “Are you feeling more like a golden retriever on a beach or a cat trapped in a spreadsheet?”
• “Pick your vibe: loading bar stuck at 99%, browser with 47 tabs open, or battery at 3%.”

A remote engineering team I know uses a rotating “status question.” One week it’s fictional characters (“What character are you today and why?”), another week it’s food (“What snack best describes your energy level?”). These are real examples of light humor that let people express stress honestly without dragging the whole mood down.

Why it works:

• It normalizes talking about stress
• It gives managers early warning signals
• It adds a tiny burst of creativity and silliness to a routine meeting

This is one of the best examples of humor for workplace stress relief because it’s embedded into something you already do. No extra meeting, no extra tool—just a small twist that makes the room feel less tense.

3. “The Oops Wall” – A Classic Example of Humor That Defuses Mistakes

Mistakes are stressful. They’re also inevitable. One powerful example of humor for workplace stress relief is creating a safe, playful way to acknowledge them.

Enter: the Oops Wall.

In an office, this might be a whiteboard where people anonymously (or proudly) post their minor, non-critical mishaps: sending an email to the wrong group, forgetting to unmute during a big presentation, showing up to the wrong conference room. In a remote team, it can be a shared doc or chat channel.

Rules:

• Only harmless mistakes (nothing involving safety, legal issues, or serious harm)
• No blaming others
• Bonus points for adding what you learned from it

Real examples include:

• “I presented the wrong slide deck to the client… and they liked it better.”
• “Scheduled a meeting for 3 a.m. my time and didn’t notice for 24 hours.”
• “Shared my grocery list instead of my project notes. Yes, I did buy 4 kinds of cheese.”

This example of humor for workplace stress relief does two things at once: it helps people laugh at small errors and builds psychological safety. When people see that others mess up too, their stress drops. The American Psychological Association points out that social support and a sense of connection can buffer the impact of stress (APA). Shared laughter is one way to build that connection.

Beyond the Big 3: More Real Examples of Humor for Workplace Stress Relief

The title promised “examples of humor for workplace stress relief: 3 fun examples,” but stopping at three would be stingy. Let’s add more real-world ideas you can steal, remix, or quietly introduce at your next team meeting.

“Out of Office, But Make It Funny”

Out-of-office messages are usually the verbal equivalent of beige walls. But they’re also a low-risk, low-stakes place to add humor.

Real examples include:

• “I’m currently away from my desk, probably trying to remember my passwords in another location. I’ll respond when I return on Tuesday.”
• “I’m on vacation, attempting to reduce my screen time from 9 hours a day to only checking the weather.”
• “If this is urgent, please contact [colleague]. If it’s not urgent, please enjoy a deep breath and a glass of water.”

This is a subtle example of humor for workplace stress relief because it reminds both sender and recipient that we’re dealing with humans, not auto-reply robots. Just keep it professional and aligned with your company culture.

“Micro-Break Laugh Sessions”

In 2024–2025, more companies are experimenting with short, scheduled micro-breaks to reduce burnout, especially for remote workers who tend to sit for long stretches. Some teams have started pairing those breaks with tiny doses of humor.

Picture this: at 2:30 p.m., a 5-minute optional “laugh break” pops onto the calendar. People can join, cameras on or off. One person shares a clean, work-appropriate clip (think late-night monologue, a short sketch, or a funny animal moment), then everyone leaves.

It’s not a meeting. There are no action items. It’s a pressure valve.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) highlights that job stress is a serious health concern and that organizational strategies to reduce stress matter (CDC/NIOSH). Short, shared humor breaks can be one small piece of a broader stress management strategy.

“Caption This” Slack Threads

Another example of humor for workplace stress relief: a weekly “Caption This” post.

Someone drops a funny but neutral image—like a dog staring at a laptop or a stack of color-coded sticky notes—and everyone adds their best caption in the thread.

Examples include:

• Picture: Cat on keyboard. Caption: “When your coworker keeps asking if you got their email.”
• Picture: Overflowing inbox. Caption: “My reward for taking a day off.”

This works especially well for hybrid and remote teams because it creates shared laughter without requiring everyone to be online at the same time.

“The Silly Trophy for a Serious Week”

When your team survives a brutal week—tight deadlines, last-minute changes, all-hands-on-deck chaos—handing out a silly trophy can be one of the best examples of humor for workplace stress relief.

Think:

• A rubber chicken
• A tiny plastic crown
• A dollar-store superhero cape

The “winner” might be the person who saved a project at the last minute, handled a crisis with grace, or just kept everyone’s spirits up. The trophy lives on someone’s desk or in their background on video calls for the week.

This light, symbolic recognition uses humor to say: “We see how hard you worked, and we appreciate you.” Recognition is strongly associated with better well-being and lower burnout, as noted in many workplace well-being frameworks, including those discussed by the U.S. Surgeon General’s guidance on workplace mental health and well-being (HHS).

“Emoji-Only Check-Ins”

Sometimes words are too much. Another real example of humor for workplace stress relief: start a meeting with an emoji-only check-in.

Everyone drops one to three emojis in the chat to show how they’re feeling. No explanation needed. People might post:

• 🔥📧☕ for “emails on fire, send coffee”
• 😴🧠 for “brain is tired”
• 💪😅 for “tired but hanging in there”

Then someone reads a few combos out loud and the group laughs at how relatable they are. It’s fast, silly, and a surprisingly honest snapshot of team stress.

How to Use These Examples of Humor for Workplace Stress Relief Without Making Things Worse

Humor can lower stress, but it can also backfire if it’s used to dismiss real problems or make people feel unsafe. The best examples of humor for workplace stress relief have a few things in common:

They punch up, not down. No jokes about people’s identity, appearance, age, or background. Ever.

They’re opt-in. Humor should be an invitation, not a requirement. If someone wants to skip the meme channel or the laugh break, that’s fine.

They respect boundaries. No “jokes” that are actually passive-aggressive comments about workload, performance, or specific coworkers.

They support, not replace, real solutions. If your team is drowning in unrealistic deadlines, no amount of memes will fix that. Humor can help people cope, but leadership still has to address workload, staffing, and policies.

Think of humor as a pressure valve, not a bandage over a broken system.

The Science: Why These Examples of Humor for Workplace Stress Relief Actually Help

Laughter isn’t just “nice to have.” There’s real physiology behind why it feels so good when your team cracks up at the same ridiculous thing.

According to the Mayo Clinic, laughter can:

• Increase oxygen intake
• Stimulate your heart, lungs, and muscles
• Activate and then cool down your stress response
• Improve mood and relieve tension (Mayo Clinic)

In workplace terms, that means:

• A short burst of humor can help people reset between stressful tasks
• Shared laughter can strengthen social bonds, which buffers stress
• A culture that allows appropriate humor often feels safer and more human

Harvard Medical School has also discussed how positive social interactions and emotional well-being are linked to better health outcomes over time, including lower stress levels (Harvard Health). Humor is one way to create those positive interactions at work.

So when you build in examples of humor for workplace stress relief—whether it’s a meme ritual, a silly trophy, or an emoji check-in—you’re not just “being fun.” You’re quietly supporting nervous systems that are constantly under pressure.

Quick Start: Pick One Example of Humor and Pilot It for 30 Days

You don’t need a full “humor strategy” with a logo and a slide deck. Pick one example of humor for workplace stress relief and try it for a month:

• If your team is chatty online, start a Monday Meme Drop.
• If your meetings are stiff, add a playful check-in question.
• If your team just survived a nightmare quarter, introduce a silly trophy.

Tell people what you’re doing and why: “We’re experimenting with small ways to reduce stress and add a little lightness.” Then pay attention. Do people engage? Do they roll their eyes? Do they start offering their own ideas?

If it works, keep it. If it doesn’t, try another example. Humor at work doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to feel honest, respectful, and a little bit human.

FAQ: Real-World Questions About Humor and Workplace Stress

Q: What are some quick examples of humor for workplace stress relief that don’t feel forced?
A: Easy, low-pressure options include a weekly meme thread, a playful check-in question at the start of meetings, emoji-only mood check-ins, or a lighthearted out-of-office message. These examples of humor don’t require anyone to perform; they simply create space for small, shared laughs.

Q: Can you give an example of humor that might actually increase stress instead of relieving it?
A: Yes. “Jokes” that target someone’s identity, mistakes, or workload can make people feel unsafe or humiliated. For example, teasing a coworker repeatedly about a past error or making sarcastic comments about someone’s performance is not stress relief—it’s stress creation.

Q: Are there examples of humor for workplace stress relief that work well for introverts?
A: Absolutely. Asynchronous activities like “Caption This” threads, meme channels, or anonymous Oops Wall submissions let people participate on their own time. These quieter examples of humor allow introverts to join in without being put on the spot in a live meeting.

Q: Is it okay to use humor when people are really burned out?
A: Yes—but carefully. Humor should never be used to dismiss or minimize burnout. It can help people cope in the short term, but leadership still needs to address workload, staffing, and boundaries. Think of humor as a supportive side dish, not the main course of your stress management plan.

Q: How can managers model healthy, appropriate humor?
A: Managers can share their own light, self-aware moments (like harmless mistakes), participate in meme threads, and open meetings with a playful question while still taking people’s concerns seriously. When leaders use respectful humor and also show they care about real stressors, it sets the tone for everyone else.