Welcome back.
I hope you had a wonderful summer and managed to stay cool, calm and collected.
Or at least two out of three.
Here in London, the weather appeared to spend much of the summer auditioning for a role in Lawrence of Arabia. England experienced its warmest June on record, southern England had its warmest July, and in August the temperature at Kew Gardens reached 38.1°C, making it the fifth hottest day ever recorded in the UK.
We are not always good at heat in Britain.
Countries accustomed to high temperatures build houses designed to keep the heat out. We build ours to keep it in, then sit indoors beside a small electric fan wondering whether opening another window will constitute a meaningful climate strategy.
Billy Idol released Hot in the City in 1982. More than four decades later, London finally seems determined to give him the weather conditions his song deserves.
Although, given Billy’s fondness for leather trousers, I suspect even he might have reconsidered his wardrobe.
But heat does something interesting to us psychologically.
When our bodies become overheated, our brains have to work harder to regulate our temperature. Concentration can become more difficult, patience can shorten and minor irritations begin to feel strangely significant.
A delayed train is no longer a delayed train. It is a personal betrayal.
Someone eating loudly nearby becomes an enemy of civilisation.
And the colleague who says, “Hot enough for you?” may suddenly appear to be taking their life into their own hands.
Research suggests that heat can affect cognitive performance, mood and decision-making. Add dehydration and several nights of poor sleep, and even the most emotionally intelligent person can find themselves engaged in a bitter territorial dispute over the office fan.
That is why keeping cool is not simply a question of temperature. It is also about psychological flexibility.
Humour helps because it gives us a moment of distance from our discomfort. It does not make the room cooler, but it can stop the atmosphere becoming unnecessarily heated. A shared smile interrupts irritation, restores perspective and reminds us that we are all slowly melting together.
Here are three cool-headed Humourology thoughts for work and life.
- Check your temperature before raising the temperature
Before reacting, ask yourself whether the situation is genuinely infuriating or whether you are simply hot, tired and in urgent need of a glass of water. Not every irritation requires an email copied to the entire senior leadership team. - Create shade, psychologically as well as physically
When people are under pressure, leaders can either add heat or offer relief. A calm voice, a little patience and a well-timed moment of gentle humour can lower the emotional temperature of a room surprisingly quickly. - Keep serious work light enough to carry
Humour does not trivialise important work. Used wisely, it helps people manage the strain of doing it. The aim is not to turn every meeting into a comedy club. It is to create enough lightness for people to think, speak and breathe.
My own summer highlights included spending precious time with family in Budapest, a city that knows rather more about summer heat than London.
I also found myself getting unexpectedly up close and personal with the Sex Pistols, courtesy of my son.
There is more to that story, but for now I shall simply say that family life occasionally takes you to places no careers adviser could possibly have predicted.
And now Humourology is back.
We are already talking to and interviewing some magnificent people for your entertainment, education and, we hope, regular emotional refreshment. There will be new conversations, new stories and plenty of thoughts about how to make work and life a little more Humourological.
The microphones are warming up.
The guests are getting ready.
And after this summer, the rest of us are finally cooling down.
See you next Tuesday.
Warmest,
Paul x
