First, we told you about how swearing in the workplace can boost employee morale. Now, a study by University of Missouri-Columbia researcher Christ Robert has found that humor is another valuable tool. Robert, an assistant professor of management at the school's Robert J. Trulaske Sr. College of Business, found that occasional humor among colleagues can enhance creativity, office cohesiveness and overall performance. "Humor has a significant impact in organizations. It's not just clowning around and having fun; it has meaningful impact on cohesiveness in the workplace and communication quality among workers," said Robert. As for using humor in cross-cultural situations, Robert says not to avoid it, but to abide by some simple ground rules for understanding what kind of humor is appropriate for each situation.

For more detailed information on his findings, you can view Robert's analysis, "The Case for Developing New Research on Humor and Culture in Organizations: Toward a Higher Grade of Manure," featured as a chapter in Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management.

A long day at the office sitting behind your desk can leave you feeling tired, lethargic and inactive. That's why furniture-maker Steelcase is hoping to get you up on your feet for a majority of your workday with the Walkstation. Basically, the station looks like an ordinary desk on top, except that it features an electric height-adjustable work surface. Then, take away the typical swivel chair and replace it with a low-speed commercial-grade treadmill. It's the first in a new line of FitWork products offered by Steelcase's brand Details and was designed by Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic.

A Yahoo! blog post discusses the positives and negatives of the station, saying it would be great for casually surfing the web or reading, but not necessarily for blogging or writing e-mails. The machine, which costs about $6,500, though not too reasonable for at-home use, could be a great addition to a company gym. You can view a video on the Steelcase website to get a better idea of what it looks like.

Taco Bell's latest World Series promotion is just one example of how the company is thinking outside the box. As this Advertising Age article points out, Taco Bell hit a PR homerun with its promise to give away a free taco to everyone in the U.S. if a base was stolen in the World Series. In the series' second game, Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox accomplished the feat for taco lovers across the country by stealing second base in the bottom of the fourth inning. Last year, Taco Bell tied the same promotion idea to a left-field homerun, which never happened. So, this year the company looked for something more probable. "Every year we're looking for a way to raise the bar," said Taco Bell spokesman Will Bortz. "We started playing around with parts of the game where it would be natural to insert ourselves in and we started looking at stolen bases."

Overall, the promotion should end up being a good deal for the taco giant. Bortz said the chain is expecting "millions of Americans" to take advantage of the free taco deal today, when people can show up between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. for their free snack. Experts estimate the overall cost for Taco Bell's advertising was about $5.6 million, and expect their potential giveaway cost to be less than $1 million. But keep in mind taco lovers will have to buy a soft drink to go along with their crunchy taco, and you can bet the Bell will think of other ways to make the most of the long lines.