[micromacrofoot]

If you can't tell a joke without insulting someone, the fault isn't with humor, it's with you.

[swatcoder]

It’s not just about insults.

If you come into a tight culture of people who will riff all day on harmless puns, or crack references to old Jersey Shore dramas, or whatever, it can be acutely alienating.

I wouldn’t personally want to work in a place so sterile, but I also feel confident in my ability to float around and either find a lively culture that suits me or work my way into a culture that once felt alienating.

But not everybody feels so confident in that, and sterile results-focused work communities get the opportunity to have these people thrive.

That sounds good for those people and for those organizations.

As long as the whole job market isn’t made to look that way, I’m not sure there’s a big critique to make.

[drewcoo]

> a tight culture of people . . . can be acutely alienating

Exactly. And people are saying "don't rob us of our culture." That ain't woke.

[bachmeier]

Or you could spend your energy doing your job rather than figuring out which jokes are safe.

[Tells joke about Bob] [No laughter] [Bob is on the conference call]

[Tells political joke] [Others think you're stupid but don't say anything]

[throwaway0a5e]

Disagree. Insult everyone approximately equally is a much more tractable goal and delivers far better results.

There's a line to be walked but it's not hard, it just takes practice.

[munk-a]

I think that most people can't - and that'd make avoiding jokes a good rule for the majority to follow.