London:

Soul as shrivelled as the crumpled paper chains? Mouth squashed into a permanent grimace of despair? Oh dear. The new year is a dismal time indeed.

But it can also be a time for rejoicing. With a little help from your similarly forlorn colleagues, you can turn work into a place of fun and frolics (OK, somewhere that doesn’t make you weep with despair) and transform your productivity, outlook and health into the bargain. No need for fancy potions: just grab your tummy and start guffawing.

Yup, guffawing. Any vaguely laughing-kind of noise will do: once you get going you’d be surprised how well you can laugh on demand. Before long, half your pod will be giggling along with you, or at you, which is still some kind of start. And for every minute your workmates stand gawping/sneering, they aren’t bitching or moaning, the twin evils of office despair.

Just imagine: if people stopped bloody whinging on about unimportant things, your work life would be immeasurably better. Laughing, whether forced or real, works your abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg and back muscles, as well as helping your blood pressure and immune system. Even better, levels of stress hormones that build up within, ooh, about three seconds of reaching your desk are lowered and endorphin levels increased.

But to get this happy takes work. It takes commitment. And your laugh-out-loud-on-your-own moment is only the start.

First of all, establish the rules. You will absolutely not, ever, engage in bitching after your security pass has swiped you into the building. So what if the boss’s PA has the smallest clothes in the universe? You will rid yourself of negativity — and refuse to listen to other people’s relentless harping. Every negative comment will be countered with a positive; every sulky put-down with a beaming smile. One sunny person really can transform an office of grumps.

But you should know your limits. If the laughs aren’t coming quickly enough, it may be time to call in the professionals.

Laughter workshops (yes, they do exist) basically consist of you and your colleagues laughing at nothing together for about an hour. To begin with, it’s closer to nervous hysteria than ho-ho-ho hilarity, but 20 minutes in and you’ll all be giving a big jolly ha! as you shake someone’s hand. Really. You can giggle, chuckle and hiccup your way to happiness. And if you can laugh at nothing, you can certainly laugh in the face of a spreadsheet. I have just one warning, however: never confuse jolly with slapstick. You know things have gone too far when a bucket of water falls from the top of every door.