Why so Humorous? The Roles of Traditionality and Gender (Dis)Similarity in Leader Humor Behavior and Employee Job Performance

Abstract

Although the consequences of leader humor have been well documented, limited research attention has been devoted to its antecedents. The current research addresses this important issue by exploring whether and when an individual characteristic (i.e., traditionality) influences leader humor behavior. Based on the relational process model of humor and data from one multiwave, multisource field study, we find that leaders scoring low on traditionality are more likely to express humor with their followers, which in turn affects followers’ job performance. Moreover, the mediating effect of leader humor behavior on the link between leader traditionality and employee job performance is stronger when the genders of the leader and subordinates differ. We discuss the implications of the findings and future directions for research concerning the antecedents of leader humor.