Knock-Knock…Who’s There? New Research on Workplace Humor

Abstract

Workplace humor is a powerful communication tool that is known to facilitate positive outcomes for employees, teams, and interpersonal relationships. However, in recent years, scholars have questioned the positive nature of humor and have encouraged the study of multiple types of humor, including those that can generate negative outcomes for both users and recipients. Additionally, there have been calls to understand the reasons behind the use of humor in the workplace and to consider how the contexts in which humor is used may influence outcomes. These queries suggest that the literature on workplace humor is still in its infancy, leaving us with a limited understanding of this common phenomenon. This symposium addresses this research agenda by investigating: (1) multiple types of humor (e.g., offensive humor, aggressive humor, leader self-deprecating humor, sarcastic humor), (2) unique effects of different types of humor (e.g., perceived norm violations, perspective taking, outright exclusion), (3) mechanisms that can influence the use of humor (e.g., risk of exclusion, need satisfaction, relative power, anxiety), (4) outcomes from reacting to other’s humor (e.g., joke listener’s morality evaluation), and (5) influence of social contexts within which humor is used (e.g., conflict-ridden vs. conflict-free). Overall, our symposium aims to promote the investigation of humor to newer grounds and perspectives. How power influences the use of humor Presenter: Thomas Bradford Bitterly; HKUST Business School Was that sarcasm or supportiveness? Receiving sarcasm during conflict enhances perspective taking Presenter: Li Huang; INSEAD It’s no joke! Coping with the risk of exclusion with humor Presenter: Shubha Sharma; U. of Georgia Presenter: Marie S. Mitchell; U. of Georgia Moral evaluations of humor apply beyond just those telling the joke Presenter: Wei Jee Ong; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Kai Chi Yam; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Christopher Barnes; U. of Washington Bad measurement is no joke: Developing and validating a measure of leader humor types Presenter: Cecily Cooper; U. of Miami Presenter: Sharon Sheridan; College of Business, Clemson U. Presenter: Dejun Kong; U. of South Florida