Good news for the office joker! There is a now a user guide to workplace humour designed specifically for Kiwis.

The guide was created by a New Zealand academic and aims to help Kiwis find the line between what's an acceptable joke at work and what isn't.

Auckland University's Barbara Plester told Kate Hawkesby we often take the mickey but that can end badly.

"If somebody is taking the piss out of you, you're included so it's quite a healthy effect in one way, but in another way sometimes it can be a bit barbed - people can take the piss in a way that hurts a little bit or is a little bit too close to the bone."

She said banter is an important part of workplace culture but people need to know what crosses the line.

"A big part of my work is identifying that line. Identifying where that line is because nobody says, "here's the line" it's never that clear."

"You work it out from your organisational culture, what sort of workplace are we? What do we get away with here? What are peoples' no-go areas?"

She said new employees need to be very careful when they make jokes because they may not know what's appropriate yet.

While workplace humour helps employees feel more motivated, Plester says there is no clear evidence to suggest it makes people more productive.

"It's a bit complicated. You can't say if we have a lot of humour we will be more productive because actually humour can a distraction."

"If people are too busy taking the piss and making jokes and doing pranks then productivity can actually fall away a little bit, so it's not a clear relationship. But if you're in a good place where your humour is quite positive and it's creating a good vibe in the workplace, people feel that they work better and they are more refreshed."

She said banning humour or joking creates really negative working environments which is why it's so important to find a balance.

Plester said while some people may think having the guide ruins the fun, it's a good way to make sure it doesn't get out of hand.

"There is that idea that when you start managing it and making rules around humour you lose it, but humour never really gets lost we find ways of doing it no matter what happens."

She said it's all about identifying where the line lies, based on the workplace and its culture.