Les côtés bénéfiques de l'humour (texte en anglais)

A meta-analysis of positive humor

in the workplace

Jessica Mesmer-Magnus and David J. Glew

Department of Management, University of North Carolina Wilmington,

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA, and

Chockalingam Viswesvaran

Department of Psychology, Florida International University,Miami, Florida, USA

Abstract

Purpose – The benefits of humor for general well-being have long been touted. Past empirical

research has suggested that some of these benefits also exist in the work domain. However, there is

little shared understanding as to the role of humor in the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to

address two main gaps in the humor literature. First, the authors summarize several challenges

researchers face in defining and operationalizing humor, and offer an integrative conceptualization

which may be used to consolidate and interpret seemingly disparate research streams. Second,

meta-analysis is used to explore the possibility that positive humor is associated with: employee health

(e.g. burnout, health) and work-related outcomes (e.g. performance, job satisfaction, withdrawal); with

perceived supervisor/leader effectiveness (e.g. perceived leader performance, follower approval); and

may mitigate the deleterious effects of workplace stress on employee burnout.

Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine the results of prior research using

meta-analysis (k ¼ 49, n ¼ 8,532) in order to explore humor’s potential role in organizational and

employee effectiveness.

Findings – Results suggest employee humor is associated with enhanced work performance,

satisfaction, workgroup cohesion, health, and coping effectiveness, as well as decreased burnout,

stress, and work withdrawal. Supervisor use of humor is associated with enhanced subordinate work

performance, satisfaction, perception of supervisor performance, satisfaction with supervisor, and

workgroup cohesion, as well as reduced work withdrawal.

Research limitations/implications – Profitable avenues for future research include: clarifying the

humor construct and determining how current humor scales tap this construct; exploring the role of

negative forms of humor, as they likely have different workplace effects; the role of humor by

coworkers; a number of potential moderators of the humor relationships, including type of humor, job

level and industry type;

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