“You’re funny, man. But are you serious about your work?”
If I had a bitcoin for every time I heard this, I’d probably buy Twitter and rename it console.log().
In every team, there’s always that one person who lightens the mood, cracks jokes during standups, and adds a meme or two in the sprint retrospective. That person is often me — and if you’re reading this, maybe it’s you too. Humor has always been my way of connecting with people. It makes meetings less robotic, builds rapport faster, and honestly, it keeps me sane in high-pressure sprints.
But over time, I realized something, “People start to remember the jokes more than the developer”. Well, not everyone, but most of the people in my own experience.
At some point, your ideas get second-guessed, your opinions don’t land as firmly, and you start noticing subtle shifts in how people perceive your technical depth.
But, why?
Humor is associated with lightness, informality, and playfulness. In contrast, software engineering (unfortunately) is often associated with seriousness, logic, and precision. When someone sees you as “the funny guy,” your intent gets misjudged.
Your suggestion becomes a joke. A genunine question sounds sarcastic. Casual tone reads like you’re not taking things seriously.
I call this “role framing”. Once you get slotted into the “clown” frame, it’s hard for people to imagine in the “architect” one.
And I don’t blame humans here. It’s natural. We think based on our perspective. It’s more of “our problem” than “their problem”. And I think, we should take this seriously.
Why you care?
Let’s be honest, respect in tech is currency. The more respect you have, the more power you have.
When people respect you, your PRs are reviewed thoughtfully, your suggestions carry weight, your disagreements are seen as insights not rebellion.
But when you’re always huomorous people might assume that you’re not detail-oriented, you don’t care deeply about the craft, you’re here just for fun not for the impact.
And that sucks, because most of us funny folks do care deeply. We’re just expressive in a different way. That’s why people who are rude and silent are taken serious, not the ones who make things light.
How to fix this?
Honestly, I don’t know much. I’m experiencing stuff here and there. I’ll just share what worked out for me in the past and working currently.
- Ship solid code, solve tough problems and document them well. Let that speak. When your output is strong, your humor becomes a bonus, not a liability.
- In meetings or PRs, signal clearly that you’re serious. Just change your tone and body language little bit. It might feel like a psychological hack, but hey it works.
- Don’t overuse jokes. After all, too much of anything is bad. Let your humor be seasoning, not the main course.
If you’re not aware of any of this, just use the good’ol trick in the book. Go and ask your peeps. Like, “Hey, I try to keep things light in meetings, but I hope it’s not coming across as lack of seriousness. What do you think?”.
It shows a bit of maturity and ironically self-awareness.
What if you don’t be funny at all
If you’re naturally funny, DON’T kill that part of yourself. But make sure your team, your leads, and your community see the craft behind the comedy. Humor is a superpower, especially in environments that are often too tense, too fast, and too serious. But with every great power comes great responsibility.
So go ahead, crack the joke. But also crack the problem. Write the meme, but also review crucial PRs. Be the funny dev, but also be the respected one.
You deserve both.
Ending with one of my favourite memes, enjoy it,
