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A well-timed joke can diffuse tension, facilitate honest feedback, and foster loyalty. But the wrong comment can flop. So how do you refine your comedic instincts for a professional audience? The Wall Street Journal's "Secrets of Effective Office Humor" shares simple tips to help you hone your humor for the office, along with compelling research indicating comedy's hardcore benefits to the work world. Here's a sampling:

Employers like to hire people with a sense of humor, research shows. And mixing laughter and fun into a company culture can attract skilled workers, according to a study last year in the journal Human Relations. A 2011 study at Pennsylvania State University found that a good laugh activates the same regions of the brain that light up over a fat bonus check.

Read the article in its entirety here.