ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
THE PROS AND CONS OF HUMOR IN THE WORKPLACE
By Dr. Karsen Jonsen – May 2012
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ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I The pros and cons of humor in the workplace
Have you ever thought seriously about what purpose humor serves? Why are things funny and
when are they not so funny? Being funny goes a long way, and humor is part of an increasing
informality in many business environments.
The reasons as to why something is funny are plentiful, yet in the psychology of humor there are
three main categories of explanations, and it’s actually funny to be aware of why people laugh.
The three theories of why things are funny relate to relief, superiority and incongruity. The relief (and
tension) theories explain that humor saves us from showing feelings and displaying emotions.
Cracking a joke on the way to the guillotine, for example, would be a typical defense mechanism
giving relief to those involved (albeit short-lived). The superiority (and hostility) theory explains how
humor helps us feel superior to other people. This may occur when they make mistakes for
example. Ethnical jokes also fall into this category. The third theory is one of colliding thoughts. That
is, we expect one thing to happen and get another. This is a typical incongruence between what
one expects and what actually occurs. In my own culture we like to say, “he comes into the office
late in the morning but on the other hand he leaves early.” When you think about this illogical
sentence, something (hopefully) collides in your thought process, which is why you will find it either
funny or just plain weird.
Think about how humor is used in social settings, particularly those at work. First of all, humor helps
create bonding as it is considered socially attractive (being funny also increases men’s sexual
attractiveness…) Humor can enhance affective and motivational states of a leader’s followers and it
reinforces similarity and belonging to the same group (of course it can also highlight dissimilarities).
For example, it can be used as icebreaker or even a criterion upon which we (especially men)
assess each other and provide identity. Thus, for an individual, humor can have great integrative
power.
Following the social mechanisms of bonding and attractiveness, humor can also help teamwork,
cohesiveness and increase motivation, productivity and ultimately performance. Moreover, humor
can provide opportunities for self-disclosure, as it allows us to show examples of “who we are” and
what we value. This, in turn, can help increase trust and improve team dynamics.
At the team level, humor has the power to help dissolve tensions. Finally, humor provides an
opportunity to either reinforce hierarchy or minimize it (decrease the perceived distance). It often
clarifies status and power relations. So, for example, it can be used by a manager to “put a
subordinate in place” as everyone may laugh in a meeting room, whereas the opposite situation
would feel awkward. But it can also help diminish the distance, as jokes about “outgroups” (e.g.
competitors) can create bonding between manager and subordinate. Dilbert comic strips are a good
example of successful business humor. Reading about dysfunctional time-wasting and how we are
all stepped on in the name of profits and cost-savings gives us great relief. It legitimizes our silent
resistance to how things are done, and allows for communication about things that are tacit yet
commonly understood.
The times they are a-changin’ - so can we still make jokes?
Like nostalgia, jokes are not what they used to be before the world went global and technology
allowed everyone to broadcast. Today, even if you know the Ferrari Enzo of jokes, it would only
gain you popularity for a fleeting moment because once a good laugh has left your computer or
device it’s probably gone global within days. If not, it probably just wasn’t funny enough. Telling
jokes is in fact a declining part of why people laugh today. One could say that jokes have been
replaced by more situational humor (exemplified well by sitcoms), where quick remarks make us
laugh because they fulfill one of the three motivations of humor.
In essence, humor is considered GOOD for various environments including work. Laughing, which
is considered a frequent consequence of successful humor, is positively associated with health
benefits of various kinds. At work, humor also helps us deal with tragedies and disasters, including
take-overs, lay-offs, financial crisis, loss of profits or clients, and the closing down of factories or
companies.
However, it can be a double-edged sword, so when using humor we must take a few things into
consideration:
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ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I The pros and cons of humor in the workplace
a) Be aware that not everything is funny to everyone, especially if the funny thing is putting other
people down (which often it is…otherwise it wouldn’t be so funny). Humor often serves as a
conformity factor, which is great for those who are “in-the-know,” but be aware of the exclusion side
that may be sensitive.
b) What kind of hierarchy and power is involved? It’s easy enough to aim humor downwards and
ridicule, but is the same “funniness” and poking jokes at management accepted in your corporate
culture? Probably not. In fact, humor used to be called the prerogative of those in authority, as it is
often used, indirectly, to suppress others.
c) Although it may serve some women well to crack jokes and quickly win over men’s hearts, humor
is typically considered an obstacle for cross-gender interaction. Depending on the style of humor,
women can be “punished” for using it unwisely, presumably because it is widely (and wrongly)
perceived incongruent with their nurturing roles.
All in all, humor is a part of our lives and very much a part of the workplace, no matter how
conservative the work environment may be. Humor should be looked at as a tool and different
leadership styles can use humor more or less effectively, depending on the audience. But use it with
care and remember your role in the grand scheme of things… as a customer you’d probably rather
have a funny taxi driver than a joking banker.
Dr. Karsten Jonsen is a Research Fellow at IMD.
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ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I The pros and cons of humor in the workplace
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