Language Faculty

Subject: English

Assessment
Directed Writing (Paper 2)

Third Term Teacher: Sheena Hardaker

Name: Laura Sofia Ramirez Date: 11/05/2020 Group: 9A

Goal 2: Learn how to write in a number of different forms for different audiences and purposes
while using effective language and varying sentence styles.

Read the two passages carefully, and then answer Question 1.

These two letters were posted on a website which offers advice on problems in the workplace.

Passage A: Letter from Gerry asking for advice

People who know me say I’ve a great sense of humour – as well as being good-looking, charming, modest
– but seriously, they do. Like anyone, I play to my strengths and, since I’m naturally funny, I joke around
in the office, tease the office juniors, do prank calls, play practical jokes, and so on. With new staff, it helps
break the ice and keeps the oldies on their toes and awake. Mostly my jokes aren’t planned, they just
happen, though sometimes they are deliberately targeted to make a point if someone is slacking or needs
reminding to get in to work on time.

I read somewhere that over 90 per cent of business executives would rather hire someone with a good
sense of humour and are more likely to promote them, believing they do a better job. Similarly, 75 per cent
of workers said they’d be reluctant to leave a workplace that was fun, with good working relationships and
high levels of trust. This proves that most normal people like a laugh. Humour can smooth over conflicts
between colleagues and frankly makes work less boring.

When our latest group of new trainees joined us last week, I made a joke and, as usual, most people
laughed. That was that – no complaints. But afterwards I was a little worried from comments I overheard
that some people could have thought I really meant what I said. My sarcastic tone hopefully made the
satirical intention of the joke clear, and shouldn’t have caused any real offence. Unfortunately, the person
concerned doesn’t seem to have a sense of humour and has been moping around ever since. As a team,
we’re used to teasing each other when someone makes a mistake and laughing about it for weeks
afterwards – it’s one way to make sure people avoid errors. No one is ever worried by it though, or rarely;
in fact I’ve only had one complaint before and that person left not long afterwards anyway.

I’m not an insensitive person. I realise some people just don’t find things funny, so I am wondering if I
should apologise or just carry on as normal. I don’t want to create an issue where there really isn’t one.
 Passage B: Letter in response
Dear Gerry,

Since you seem reasonable enough to realise you may need to apologise, I’m assuming the humour
you’re talking about doesn’t involve any type of prejudice. If it had you’d probably have been sacked by
now. All forms of prejudice in the workplace, for example those based on gender, race or physical
appearance, are completely inappropriate and could lead you to face discrimination charges.

Unfortunately, the fact that most people laughed isn’t necessarily evidence that your joke was a safe
one. Sometimes we laugh because we’re shocked, or weren’t expecting someone to say what they did,
or simply because others are laughing. If you’re someone’s boss they might be laughing with you out
of nervousness, or with their career prospects in mind.

You say you’re not insensitive – not all of your co-workers may agree. Even if they think of you as good
fun and essentially a good person, the point is that even good people can contribute to hostile
environments, making life miserable for someone else.

Suppose this one joke didn’t actually offend anyone. Suppose I’m overreacting when I throw around
words like ‘alienate’ and ‘bullying’. It’s still the case that senior staff are role models for juniors aspiring
to succeed. They learn by watching. The boundaries for your new trainees are where you draw them.
‘Just kidding’, ‘No offence’ or ‘Can’t you take a joke?’ are too often used as a defence for bad behaviour.

You’ll tell me no doubt that laughter reduces stress by releasing endorphins, that humour can help you
think and be more creative. But imagine for a moment if you’re on the receiving end of a joke that upsets
you – your reaction would be just the opposite.

Research does show how strategic, purposeful humour at work can help organisations brand
themselves, attract employees, improve morale and reduce absenteeism. But while humour can be a
great tool for improving productivity and relationships, inappropriate jokes and comments will undermine
them. What you and your friends find funny could be insulting and offensive to others you know less
well. Humour has little to do with practical jokes. Humour that excludes anyone or causes people to
become distracted because they are feeling bad is inappropriate.

Perhaps that apology might be the first thing you need to consider …
Question 1
Imagine you are researching the use of humour in the workplace for a magazine article.
You have interviewed people from Gerry’s company about their experience of humour in
the workplace and their attitudes towards it.

Write the magazine article.

In your article you should:

Base your article on the facts, ideas and opinions in the two letters, but be careful to use
your own words. Address each of the bullet points.

Begin your article with a suitable headline.

Write about 250 to 350 words.

Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 15 marks for
the quality of your writing.

Is it really good to implement humor in the work?

Although humor has some advantages if it is taken in the best way, as when there is a new
member since this helps to relieve tension because they usually feel intimidated and humor
breaks that hostility between people. It also helps others, especially the older ones, to keep in
constant movement and pending at all times. At the same time it is better than direct confrontation
so you can manifest a disagreement. Additionally, executives hire and promote people with a
good sense of humor as they are believed to do a better job than others. Furthermore, humor and
joy are contagious, preventing conflicts from having a great impact and generating less boredom
during working hours.

On the other hand, the way you use it may not be the best since if you take it to discriminate
against others about anything it can be very serious and can cost you your career. This too can
create a very stressful environment since the effects of teasing cannot always be judged by those
who do.

To avoid misuse of this tool you need to plan your humor carefully beforehand – agree what is
acceptable and what isn’t; practical jokes never appropriate in adult workplace; bosses using
jokes can’t command authority, sounds immature. Also people need to know each other before
risking jokes and as much as possible avoid complaints because they need to be treated with
sensitivity and effectiveness; Formal procedure necessary to ensure that any issues that staff feel
they have to leave are addressed.

Finally, for a good work environment, apologies should be encouraged when necessary and it
should be noted that humor can relieve both stress and create stress. Clearly humor can be of
great help and positive for your career years if it’s used in the best way.
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