Combating workplace loneliness climate and enhancing team performance: The roles of leader humor and team bureaucratic practices

Abstract

Extending research on loneliness at work to the team level, we integrate leader humor and team bureaucratic practices literature to predict how and when team performance is enhanced by combatting workplace loneliness climate. We tested our theoretical model across two studies. In Study 1, we found that leader sense of humor resulted in lower workplace loneliness climate and, thus, in better team performance. Furthermore, leader sense of humor was negatively related to workplace loneliness climate only under low team bureaucratic practices. Study 2 replicated and extended Study 1 by testing the critical role of leader humor styles. Results illustrated that affiliative humor strengthened, while aggressive humor weakened, the negative effect of leader sense of humor on workplace loneliness climate. These findings present a comprehensive approach to broadening knowledge about leader humor and loneliness at work in teams, and they are insightful to practitioners who aim to build effective teams.