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
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
âą Use humour to loosen up the atmosphere
âą Imagine what will your favourite comedian comment on
such a situation
âą Try to use self-affecting humour
âą A touch of humour will result in a more effective work
place
âą Lighten up a tense situation with humour
âą Use comics or funny stuff in the work place
âą Use stress-reducing devices or toys with the sense of
humour
âą In a stressful situation, run a funny fantasy in the head to
help feel the control
7. Cooperâs 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
âą Key component
âą Homogenous âcollective moodâ
âą 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 â
Creation
Positive
affectivity
Sense of humour â
Appreciation
Positive affectivity
Humour type
Self monitoring
Emotional
intelligence
12. References:
âą Cooper, C. (2008). Elucidating the bonds of workplace humor:
A relational process model. Human Relations, 61(8), 1087-
1115.
âą Lee, Y. P., & Kleiner, B. H. (2005). How to use humour for
stress management. Management Research News, 28(11/12),
179-186.
âą Robert, C., & Wilbanks, J. E. (2012). The Wheel Model of
humor: Humor events and affect in organizations. Human
Relations, 65(9), 1071-1099.