Humour at work

Óvári VirágEL66JE

What is humour?Incongruity theory

Describe the humour itself

Some kind of incongruity must exist

Sense of humour

Individual trait, stylePropensity to create and

appreciate humorous stimuli

Social phenomenon

Communication shared between individuals

Physical benefitsLowers blood pressure

Lowers heart rateReduces muscle tension

Increases the activity of the immune systemReduces levels of hormones that create stress

Creates a general sense of well-being

Psychological benefitsReleases anger

Improves ability to keep panic and anxiety under control

Increases creative thinking

Improves communication skills

Organizational benefitsEstablishes a strong team spirit Increases productivity

Bring people closer to each other

Alleviates some boredom

Lowers employee feeling of anxiety

Different ways of using humour at work

• Use humour to loosen up the atmosphere• Imagine what will your favourite comedian comment on

such a situation• Try to use self-affecting humour• A touch of humour will result in a more effective work

place• Lighten up a tense situation with humour• Use comics or funny stuff in the work place• Use stress-reducing devices or toys with the sense of

humour• In a stressful situation, run a funny fantasy in the head to

help feel the control

Cooper’s relational process modelA useful framework for understanding how humour andpositive affect can influence interpersonal relationships inthe work place

Affect reinforcement

process

shared humour results in

positive affect and reinforces

positive associations

Perceived similarity process

successfully shared humour

resulting in positive affect

increases perceived similarity

Vehicle for self-disclosure

humour can be used to more

safely disclose personal

information

Salience of hierarchical differences

humour can be used to either reinforce or

minimize the salience

The Wheel Model of humour

STATE POSITIVE AFFECT

C

A B

POSITIVE HUMOUR EVENT

HUMOUR ENVIRONMENT

GROUP/DYAD POSITIVE AFFECT

EMOTIONAL DISPLAY

E

D

Emotional contagion• Key component• Homogenous ‘collective mood’• Non-Duchenne smiling: - no internal

positive affect- little impacton contagion

Variables that moderate or influence the Humor Wheel

STATE POSITIVE AFFECT

C

A B

POSITIVE HUMOUR EVENT

HUMOUR ENVIRONMENT

GROUP/DYAD POSITIVE AFFECT

EMOTIONAL DISPLAY

E

D

Culture: Emotional display rules

Culture: Ingroup vs. outgroup statusIndustry /management

characteristics

Sense of humour –CreationPositiveaffectivity

Sense of humour – AppreciationPositive affectivityHumour typeSelf monitoringEmotionalintelligence

Thank you for your attention!

References: • Cooper, C. (2008). Elucidating the bonds of workplace humor:

A relational process model. Human Relations, 61(8), 1087-1115.

• Lee, Y. P., & Kleiner, B. H. (2005). How to use humour for stress management. Management Research News, 28(11/12), 179-186.

• Robert, C., & Wilbanks, J. E. (2012). The Wheel Model of humor: Humor events and affect in organizations. Human Relations, 65(9), 1071-1099.