Workplace stress or occupational stress is the leading cause of employee absenteeism. On an average workday, an estimated 1 million workers do not make it to work due to stress-related-illness.

The unexpected or uncontrollable situations that daily wreak havoc on our well laid plans are a major source of stress. Even though we are often unable to control our circumstances, we can control our reaction. Acute stress causes the two hemispheres of our brain to become disconnected. This explains why we might feel flustered, fumble, drop things, and make mistakes, when we feel stressed out.

If we are able to look for the humor in that moment, smile, and find a way to laugh about it, we can diffuse a potentially explosive situation. Laughter is a pressure release valve that activates the limbic system in the brain, connecting the right and left sides. It helps us do more whole brain work, and improves our mental clarity. By relieving our stress, we are able to regain our perspective, summon our creativity and problem solve at a higher capacity.

Karla is an accountant and works for a medical office. Even though it was a stretch, Karla worked hard all week to finish the payroll, so she may leave work early to attend her daughter's volleyball tournament. Her boss asks her to fill in for the receptionist, who just called in sick.

Karla has a solid relationship with her boss, and she is fortunate to work in a fun environment. Karla feels comfortable to use humor in her response to her boss' request, "Sure, I adore this office. I don't mind missing my daughter's volleyball tournament this afternoon, even though it will break her heart, and I have worked hard to get my work done so I may leave early today. That is, unless you insist that I still leave early."

One theory on how humor is created is called the Incongruity Theory. This theory suggests that we laugh when two incongruent things come together unexpectedly. Without complaining, Karla was able to draw her boss' attention to the commitment she made to be present at her daughter's game. Because Karla's playful sarcasm caused her boss to chuckle, he was more than willing to make a plan that would accommodate her leaving early.

How can you use humorous exaggeration to solve a stressful issue in your workplace? Here is an example. You are not able to finish a project, because it hinges on receiving information from another co-worker, who has assured you twice, he will send it immediately. You feel awkward asking him a third time. So you pick up the phone, and call him, "I seem to be having some problems receiving my e-mail lately. I can't seem to locate the information you sent to me last week."

Don't be surprised if this is the response you hear, "The problem is not with your e-mail. I still haven't sent that information." When you show others that you aren't perfect, it allows them to admit that they are human, too. Bottom-line, you want the information and the quickest way to get it is to ask without blaming or offending.

The next time you are stressed out because of unexpected or uncontrollable circumstances remember this; "On the keyboard of life, humor is your escape key."

Lois McElravy, Lessons from Lois, works with individuals and organizations who want to learn how to effectively use humor, so they can handle the demands and pressures of work and home, maintain a flexible perspective, produce positive outcomes, and have more fun.

Learning to laugh and "hangin' on with humor" rescued Lois from the distress and despair surrounding her daily life, and initiated her recovery from a brain injury. Her universal message offers hope, motivates participants to be faithful to do the small things, and conquer their challenges one day at a time.

Downsizing and restructuring of organizations continue to increase workplace stress. An atmosphere of uncertainty overshadows even a hint of job security. Employees work longer and harder than ever, due to staggering workloads caused by cut backs, and they still can't get all the work done. Job satisfaction is on the decline.

What's the remedy? Studies reveal that workers list fun as a top priority for job satisfaction, even above salary. Numerous studies show that increased productivity and employee retention are relative to the amount of laughter and fun in their workplace.

Yet, deteriorating work conditions continue to squash the potential to engage in fun at work, particularly if upper management suffers from "terminal seriousness." Workers wrestle with another barrier that hinders them from expressing humor at work - the risk of being misinterpreted.

• If you are having fun on the job, you might be accused of goofing off, wasting time and not being productive.

• Your professionalism could be questioned and you could lose the respect of others who think you do not take your job seriously.

• A third concern about using humor in the workplace is the potential to inadvertently offend co-workers, or bystanders.

Whether a work atmosphere is fun, or not, depends largely on the leadership. A pecking order exists within businesses. The attitudes and behaviors that leaders display set the tone for those who are under their direction to follow suit. When managers demonstrate their ability to see the humor and laugh instead of over-reacting to unexpected circumstances, it opens the door for employees to draw on their sense of humor to overcome the adversities they encounter. Instead of becoming paralyzed by fear when things are not going well, employees develop resiliency.

Employees respect managers who openly display their humanness, by exposing an error they once made and sharing the insights gained. Doing so establishes an atmosphere of trust and cultivates workers' willingness to be open with their supervisors. Employees develop the confidence to disclose their own oversights, disappointing information or challenges and ask for assistance. Openness grants everyone permission to learn and grow from another's experiences.

Nothing beats a fun work environment. Whether you are at the top of the work chain in your company or starting from the bottom, infiltrating a tense or dull workplace with humor requires commitment and patience. It is worth every effort. Start slow, but start now. And by all means, make it fun!

Five tips to safely unleash your sense of humor on the job:

• Clearly establish and maintain that you are serious about doing your job in a competent and timely manner.

• Choose the timing for using humor carefully, so you aren't creating inappropriate distractions.

• Observe co-workers to detect their individual humor personalities, and be sensitive toward them. What appears funny to you, may not tickle their funny bone.

• Start small and don't jump in trying to entertain and amuse. Play it safe and introduce your sense of humor gradually by surprising co-workers with something that makes them smile.

• Use self-effacing humor to relate to a challenge or disappointment that a co-worker is experiencing.

Lois McElravy, Lessons from Lois, works with individuals and organizations who want to learn how to effectively use humor, so they can handle the demands and pressures of work and home, maintain a flexible perspective, produce positive outcomes, and have more fun.

Learning to laugh and "hangin' on with humor" rescued Lois from the distress and despair surrounding her daily life, and initiated her recovery from a brain injury. Her universal message offers hope, motivates participants to be faithful to do the small things, and conquer their challenges one day at a time.

"Seven, eight, nine, ten," muttered Larry.

Noticing that he was red faced and obviously agitated, I shot Larry a blank stare and asked, "What's going on?"

Exasperated, he filled me in, "Counting to ten!"

Clueless, I pushed on, "Why?" And then it dawned on me. My husband was perturbed...with me? The look on my face advertised my utter disbelief. Traditionally, Larry was the one who was dumbfounded to learn that he had ruffled my feathers. Chuckling at the irony of this moment, we both exploded into laughter.

Laughter devours frustration and defuses anger. It sets the tone and alters the mood in relationships. A sense of humor cushions our emotional response and enables us to let something slide, instead of taking offense or over-reacting. Humor allows us to save face when we blow it.

"Wow! You look nice."

My first impression of Larry's flattery was, "Nice? What happened to looking pretty, beautiful, or "hot?" Longing to enjoy our night out, and determined not to let anything put a damper on it, I whisked away my disparaging thoughts.

Larry picked up on my somber mood, flashed me a grin while arching his eyebrows, and continued to lay it on thick, "You look like you've lost weight."

Even though I had just performed a stretching routine after hopping into my favorite blue jeans so I could button them, I perked up, "I do?"

"Yes, your belly isn't sticking out nearly as much as... Larry's wide-eyed look of panic finished his sentence.

The ball dropped into my court. This was my chance to give my husband exactly what he had coming, "Was that remark supposed to resemble a compliment?" My stoic tone commanded his answer.

Looking down at his feet, Larry choked on his reply, "Yup. That was the plan." Playfully I teased, "I don't believe you meant to offend me, so I am going to give you a chance to make it up to me." His chin popped up. "After you spring for dinner, how would you like to take me to a movie of my choosing?"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Larry promptly recognized he had been had. I glowed triumphantly, because I succeeded in giving Larry what he deserved...the chance to save face. It was payback for those times he had disregarded my careless comments.

There's no better way to create closeness, than when someone demonstrates their love and acceptance of us, despite our shortcomings. So much, that they are willing to take the time and effort to convey our blunders back to us in a positive manner.

The next time someone unintentionally says or does something hurtful to you, refuse to take it personally. Call on your sense of humor to draw attention to their conduct without over-reacting. But don't let them off the hook without first having some fun. Surprise them by behaving completely opposite of how they would expect.

If you need to make amends for your actions, try using playful exaggeration and promise outrageous rewards in exchange for their forgiveness. Remember, on those days when you have misplaced your sense of humor, and don't want to lose your cool... you can always count to ten.

Lois McElravy, Lessons from Lois, works with individuals and organizations who want to learn how to effectively use humor, so they can handle the demands and pressures of work and home, maintain a flexible perspective, produce positive outcomes, and have more fun.

Learning to laugh and "hangin' on with humor" rescued Lois from the distress and despair surrounding her daily life, and initiated her recovery from a brain injury. Her universal message offers hope, motivates participants to be faithful to do the small things, and conquer their challenges one day at a time.

Never judge by appearances, but always remember that you will be judged by them.

Picture a pile of presents, beautifully wrapped, without gift tags. How do you choose one? Experience teaches us that outward appearances can be deceiving.

The Christmas lights reflected off the purple foil that wrapped around the biggest present under our tree. Next to the humongous silver bow, the gift tag showed my name! Filled with curiosity, I imagined my gift to be an extravagant reward from my husband, for the progress I had made in the past two years.

Previous to sustaining a brain injury, Christmas preparation was difficult to manage. I shuddered to recall how my short term memory deficits and organizational challenges added to the confusion and chaos we experienced that first Christmas. Learning new strategies and systems wasn't easy, but it helped me function better. Well aware that my housekeeping ability and cooking talents were still a long way from what they once were, the well-meaning advice others felt compelled to offer, struck a cord of sensitivity within me.

Our four children were antsy, and eager to find out what was inside the box, so they could open their gifts. Tearing madly into the wrapping, I uncovered a box, picturing an elaborate 5 piece dusting set. Larry beamed with pride. Certain this was a decoy disguising my real gift, I peaked inside. I felt like someone punched me in the gut, as I came face to face with an assortment of lime green dusters, in every size and shape imaginable, complete with extension rods. Clueless that I had interpreted his gift to mean I was a pathetic housekeeper, Larry joyfully demonstrated, "I know how you struggle with housework, and I wanted to help you. These dusters will make your dusting quicker and easier."

Wide eyed, our children silently watched my chain reaction of emotion. I recognized the potential for a teachable moment, one where I could illustrate to our children how to graciously accept a gift you neither asked for, nor wanted. "Larry, anytime you really want to help me with the dusting, feel free to borrow my handy, dandy, assortment of dusters."

With that I huffed out of the room. Have you ever set yourself up to be disappointed by your expectations? Jumped to wrong conclusions? Or interpreted a situation differently than it was intended, and took offense when none was meant? Such was the case of my big, beautiful purple present. Larry and I both learned something of value that Christmas.

I wished I had called on my sense of humor to communicate my hurt feelings, in lieu of over-reacting. Instead of causing a scene, I could have joked with Larry and said, "I know you didn't mean to offend me by insinuating that I am not a good housekeeper. So, I'm going to give you a chance to make it up to me. I am promoting you to head duster, and giving you permission to borrow my new dusting set."

Larry learned "The First Rule of Holes - If you are in one, quit digging." That is, if your house is dusty, don't buy your wife a handy, dandy duster set. Instead, wait until she leaves the room, secretly pick up a dust cloth and get to work.

Funny videos are abundant on the web. From amateur clips to professional skits, samples of cartoons to segments of live comedy acts, and anything else that can make you laugh-the internet has it all.

There are many sites featuring funny videos. Some are video sharing sites, where users can post videos they find funny, and rate videos posted by other sites. Other sites feature videos, so that people browsing can just graze and click; no effort required.

Most video clips online are relatively short, which is convenient for you; the viewer. You no longer need to spend half an hour or more in front of the TV to relax, loosen up, and have some laughs. With the proper video site, you can scroll for videos and find one within moments. The average funny video is less than 5 minutes long. Not only is this great if you're in a hurry, but a funny video clip can be a great break from work or daily tasks.

A cool aspect of funny videos (more so than other videos online) is the viral effect. Funny videos are a means of social expression, and communication. How? Simple. You send a funny video to a friend, and the friend is amused. This friend sends the video to a few more friends. Each person amused will send the video to more people, so that it spreads like a virus, only it's a lot funnier than a virus.

What does this do for you? Well, it lets you share a part of yourself with countless others. You're sharing a bit of your sense of humour, and others with a similar sense of humour will share in that and enjoy it. Sharing videos online may not directly affect you, but the videos can have an effect on hundreds, thousands, even millions of other viewers. To share in such a basic, but large form of communication is a privilege of the internet era.

A personal effect that will directly benefit you is... your health! Laughing is good for you. How many statistics have you heard about how laughter helps fight disease, prevent disease, and cure disease? "Laughter is the best medicine." Laughter is a form of exercise. When we laugh, we breathe deeper, our heart rate can increase, and most people move a bit while laughing.

Laughter also exercises the facial muscles. Why do you care? Laughter will help you age! The more you use your facial muscles, the stronger they'll be. You'll prevent drooping, saggy wrinkles. Laugh lines around the eyes can be very attractive, and they'll reflect you, and your strong sense of humour.

There's no way that Christianity's founders could have predicted what I consider to be the eighth deadly sin: rude driving. A few of the seven deadlies might already cover it-greed, wrath, envy or even pride-but I believe it belongs in its own category. Surely Dante would add a thirteenth circle of hell for aggressive drivers.

You know what I'm talking about. The Me-Firsters who swerve in and out of traffic-only to end up stopping at the same lights as you do. The tailgaters who inspired one of my favorite bumperstickers, "Unless You're a Hemorrhoid, Get off my Ass." My favorite is the guy here in Longmont, Colorado, who bought a traffic light changer for $100 on the Internet and screwed up the morning commute for months before the cops finally caught on. Then he had the gall to tell a reporter he did it because he was always running late! Uh, hello, there's a better solution to that problem! His sin is in a category all its own. Solitary confinement in hell, with frequent visits from Satan himself, would be about right.

I learned to drive in Los Angeles in the late seventies, about the time that a new trend came out of the Land O' Fruits and Nuts-freeway shootings. My driver's ed instructor repeatedly said that automobiles can be a deadly weapon. Who knew that bad manners behind the wheel could be just as lethal? Keeping your middle finger to yourself on the road became a matter not just of good breeding, but of survival. I think it's the reason why driving in L.A., while still potentially a contact sport, is overall a much more courteous experience than anywhere else I've lived in the United States. When you need to merge in bumper-to-bumper traffic on your way to Disney Land, you have a good-to-excellent chance of encountering drivers who will slow down and let you in. If you think I'm being too kind to Angelenos, I have just three words for you. Miami. Seattle. Boston. It's every man for himself in those places.

I'm hardly blameless, though. When I'm having a bad day, I'm more susceptible to the rude driving bug. I compare my progress to the guy in the SUV roaring up in the lane beside me, and I speed up. (Envy) I gloat as I pass the compulsive lane changers on the Diagonal Highway to Boulder. (Pride) My kids are well aware that "jack ass" is my favorite term for jerks in traffic. (Wrath)

But wasn't I talking about other rude drivers? Don't even get me started on people who think they can drive and talk on their cellphones. A fourteenth circle of hell, anyone?

Diana Shellenberger is an author whose essays have been published in national newspapers and magazines. She is writing a novel, Nothing Left but Joy, and is also compiling a book of short stories. She lives in Colorado.