Care for Joy: Evaluation of a Humor Intervention and Its Effects on Stress, Flow Experience, Work Enjoyment, and Meaningfulness of Work

Abstract

The media increasingly speak of a care crisis. Systematic support is needed to prepare nursing apprentices for the high demands of their profession and to reduce the number of nurses who finally quit. Particularly in stressful jobs like nursing, humor as a coping strategy can have a beneficial effect on perceived stress and overall work enjoyment. In this study, we used a humor intervention among nursing staff in training and evaluated its effects on humor, stress, work enjoyment, the meaningfulness of work, and flow experience. The sample consists of 104 nurses in training. The intervention group received a 3-h humor intervention, while the control group received no intervention. Positive and negative affect were measured immediately before and after the intervention. Humor was measured before the intervention (t0) and again 6 months later (t1); at t1, we again measured humor and also stress, work meaningfulness, work enjoyment, and flow experience. Our analyses showed a beneficial change in positive and negative affect right after the intervention. By means of repeated measures ANOVA we could further confirm an effect of the intervention on reported humor 6 months later. Humor mediated positive effects of the humor intervention on perceived meaningfulness of work, work enjoyment, and on the frequency of flow at work. Also, we found a significant negative relationship between humor and stress measured at t1. The results of this study confirm the effectiveness of humor interventions in promoting humor, and, through this, the meaningfulness of work, work enjoyment, and the frequency of flow experience. Implications of the use of humor interventions in the nursing profession are discussed.

The Relationship between Flow Experience and Burnout Symptoms: A Systematic Review

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Wellbeing in Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship between Personal Resources and Exhaustion

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The Influence of Innovation Climate on Creative Role Identity: The Mediating Role of Flow

“…Some scholars have also put forward innovative and interesting viewpoints on the influence of the curriculum setting, proving the important role of the practices of teachers and teacher support. For example, a dialog-style teaching method presented by two teachers makes the classroom more like a drama performance, which can make students focus better on class ( Wang et al, 2021 ); the higher the level of simulation of real-world scenarios in practical courses, the timelier the feedback provided, and the more likely students are to experience flow ( Yoo and Kim, 2018 ); a humorous climate can increase the frequency of flow experiences ( Bartzik et al, 2021 ); the application of advanced teaching models and concepts in classroom teaching can make students more willing to devote themselves to learning and have more fun ( Yang and Hsu, 2020 ). Some scholars have also studied the influence of task difficulty factors on flow in the classroom.…”