Humour at work depends on the relationship that bosses have with employees, according to new research.
A study by the University of Missouri contradicts the conventional idea that funny bosses in the workplace improve team morale.
According to The Daily Mail, the research states that bad bosses should avoid humour such as sarcasm. It found that the success of a joke depends increasingly on the relationship that a boss has with employees.
Christopher Robert is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management at the university and is an author of the study. He said: “Generally, people think that positive humour, which is inclusive, affiliative and tasteful, is good in leadership, and negative humour, which is aggressive and offensive, is bad.
“In our study, we found the effects of humour [in general] depend on the relationship between leaders and subordinates. Specifically, both positive and negative humour use by leaders is positively related to their subordinates' job satisfaction when the relationship between the leader and subordinates is good.”
In order to test this theory, Robert and his team created questionnaires for bosses and employees. Responses from 70 leaders and their 241 subordinates in 54 organisations were analysed.
The Professor explained that humour can often help maintain strong relationships but it depends on the context. “The findings suggest that if leaders wish to integrate humour into their interactions with subordinates, they should first assess whether or not their subordinates are likely to interpret their humorous overtures positively,” he added.
“Instead of using humour to build relationships, leaders should work to build strong relationships through other means such as through clear communication, fair treatment, and providing clear and useful feedback.”
What do you think, should bosses embrace humour? Comment below.
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Sameera Jenkins
Tracy Powley