Does leader humor style matter and to whom?

Abstract

PurposeThe interest on leader humor styles is recent. By applying a trustworthiness framework, the authors examine (1) how leader humor styles contribute to performance and deviance via trust in the supervisor and (2) who benefits/suffers the most from different leader humor styles.Design/methodology/approachThe authors tested their hypotheses in a sample of 428 employee–supervisor dyads from 19 organizations operating in the services sector.FindingsAffiliative and self-enhancing leader humor styles are particularly beneficial for employees with low core-self-evaluations, helping them develop trust in the supervisor and consequently improving their performance. An aggressive leader humor style, via decreased trust in the supervisor, reduces performance, regardless of employees' core self-evaluations. Self-enhancing and self-defeating leader humor styles also present significant relationships with organizational deviance.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include the cross-sectional design and the limited number of mechanisms examined.Practical implicationsOrganizations need to train leaders in the use of humor and develop a culture where beneficial humor styles are endorsed, while detrimental humor styles are not tolerated.Originality/valueThese findings contribute to the literatures on trust and humor, by showing that the use of humor is not as trivial as one could initially think, particularly for those with low core self-evaluations, and by expanding our knowledge of the mechanisms by which different leader humor styles may influence performance and deviance.

A place and time for humor: leader humor in Confucian cultures

“…A growing body of research has focused on the complexity of leader humor. Some have claimed that the effectiveness of humor depends largely on the content of the humorwhether positive or negative (Lee, 2015;Neves & Karagonlar, 2020); however, others have argued that the perception of leader humor is influenced by the quality of pre-existing relationshipsfor instance, whether subordinates have trust in the leader (Lee, 2015). The characteristics of the interacting parties, such as the gender of the leader (Decker & Rotondo, 2001) or the tenure of the subordinates (Robert, Dunne, & Iun, 2016), also influence the effectiveness of leader humor.…”

“…The characteristics of the interacting parties, such as the gender of the leader (Decker & Rotondo, 2001) or the tenure of the subordinates (Robert, Dunne, & Iun, 2016), also influence the effectiveness of leader humor. Many studies have underscored the necessity of a leader applying humor with care in consideration of its appropriateness to a given context (Karakowsky, Podolsky, & Elangovan, 2019;Kong, Cooper, & Sosik, 2019;Lee, 2015;Neves & Karagonlar, 2020;Taecharungroj & Nueangjamnong, 2015).…”

“…As an effective and inexpensive motivational tool, leaders are encouraged by many scholars to adopt humor to foster positive workplace emotions or a fun atmosphere (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007;Robert & Wilbanks, 2012). However, research on leader humor indicates that the effects of leader humor are not straightforward; thus, an organization must carefully consider whether its benefits outweigh its risks (Kong, Cooper, & Sosik, 2019;Lee, 2015;Neves & Karagonlar, 2020). In addition, other scholars claim that the context in which leader humor is employed is of paramount importance to its successful use.…”

The Role of Employee Trust in the Relationship Between Leaders’ Aggressive Humor and Knowledge Sharing

“…Employees, based on the actions and practices of their leaders, draw the nature of their relationship, which is either characterized by trust in leadership or a loss of it (Neves and Karagonlar, 2020). When employees and their leaders are in a mutually trustworthy social sharing relationship, they tend to reciprocate positive treatment, and vice versa (de Jong et al, 2015).…”

Leader–Employee Congruence in Humor and Innovative Behavior: The Moderating Role of Dynamic Tenure

“…As a communication strategy, leader humor is related to employee creativity ( Li et al, 2019 ; Hu and Luo, 2020 ; Peng et al, 2020 ), job satisfaction ( Robert et al, 2015 ), job performance ( Kim et al, 2016 ; Tan et al, 2020a ), work engagement ( Yam et al, 2018 ; Tan et al, 2020b ), organizational citizenship behavior ( Cooper et al, 2018 ), voice behavior ( Liu et al, 2020 ), and feedback-seeking behavior ( Karakowsky et al, 2020 ). Although researchers have started to use a dyadic and relational approach to examine the outcomes of leader humor, such as leader–member exchange ( Pundt and Venz, 2017 ; Cooper et al, 2018 ; Yam et al, 2018 ; Liu et al, 2020 ) or employee’s trust in the supervisor ( Neves and Karagonlar, 2020 ), a critical question remains regarding the role of employee humor in shaping the relationship between leader humor and innovative behavior. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between leader–employee congruence/incongruence in humor and employee innovative behavior.…”