This document discusses the benefits of humor in the workplace. It notes that humor can have physical benefits like lowering stress hormones and boosting the immune system. Psychologically, humor releases anger and improves creative thinking. For organizations, humor establishes team spirit, increases productivity, and alleviates boredom. The document presents models for how humor works in relationships and groups. Specifically, the Wheel Model of Humor shows how positive humor events lead to positive affect, emotional displays, and contagion that strengthen workplace bonds. Factors like culture, management, and individual traits influence these humor dynamics. The document encourages using self-deprecating humor and humor to lighten tense situations.

1. Humour at work
Óvári Virág
EL66JE

2. What is humour?
Incongruity theory
Describe the humour
itself
Some kind of incongruity
must exist
Sense of humour
Individual trait, style
Propensity to create and
appreciate humorous
stimuli
Social phenomenon
Communication shared
between individuals

3. Physical benefits
Lowers blood pressure
Lowers heart rate
Reduces muscle tension
Increases the activity of the immune system
Reduces levels of hormones
that create stress
Creates a general sense of well-being

4. Psychological benefits
Releases anger
Improves ability to keep panic
and anxiety under control
Increases creative thinking
Improves communication
skills

5. Organizational benefits
Establishes a strong team spirit
Increases productivity
Bring people closer to each other
Alleviates some boredom
Lowers employee
feeling of anxiety

6. 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

7. Cooper’s relational process model
A useful framework for understanding how humour and
positive affect can influence interpersonal relationships in
the 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

8. The Wheel Model of humour
STATE
POSITIVE
AFFECT
C
A B
POSITIVE
HUMOUR
EVENT
HUMOUR
ENVIRONMENT
GROUP/DYAD
POSITIVE
AFFECT
EMOTIONAL
DISPLAY
E
D

9. Emotional contagion
• Key component
• Homogenous ‘collective mood’
• Non-Duchenne smiling:
- no internal
positive affect
- little impact
on contagion

10. 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 –
Creation
Positive
affectivity
Sense of humour –
Appreciation
Positive affectivity
Humour type
Self monitoring
Emotional
intelligence

11. Thank you for your attention!

12. 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.