How adaptive and maladaptive humor influence well-being at work: A diary study
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Hannes Guenter
Hannes Guenter is an assistant professor in the Department of Organization and Strategy at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands. He earned his PhD in work psychology from ETH Zurich in Switzerland. His research interests include team processes (e.g., planning, conflicts), team dynamics, time in organizations, and employee well-being. His research has been published inHuman Resource Management ,Research Policy , and theJournal of Management & Organization , among others., Bert Schreurs
, IJ. Hetty Van EmmerikBert Schreurs is an associate professor in the Department of Organization and Strategy at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands. He earned his PhD in psychology from the University of Leuven in Belgium. His current research interests include multilevel methodology, emotional regulation, occupational stress and well-being, and constructive deviance. His work has been published in various journals, such as theJournal of Organizational Behavior ,Human Resource Management ,Human Performance , andWork & Stress . Since 2012, he has been an associate editor ofCareer Development International . , Wout GijsbersIJ. Hetty Van Emmerik is a full professor of organizational theory and organizational behavior in the Department of Organization and Strategy at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands. Her research interests include organizational behavior and human resource management issues, such as social relationships within organizations (e.g., leadership, working within teams, mentoring, networking, and social support issues) and the association with various career outcomes at the team and individual levels (e.g., team satisfaction, commitment, burnout, and work engagement). Her work has been published in various journals, such asWork & Stress ,Work and Occupations ,Group and Organization Management , and theJournal of Organizational Behavior . und Ad Van ItersonWout Gijsbers is a digital media marketeer and strategist, and the owner of 59 STAPLES Sustainable Digital Media Marketing. As both an MSc student at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics and a BSc student at University College Maastricht, he conducted research on the use of humor in organizational settings. This research has also shaped his approach to the development of Digital Media Marketing strategies within organizations.Ad Van Iterson is an associate professor of Organization Studies at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. He graduated at the University of Amsterdam, after which he earned his PhD from Maastricht University with a thesis on cultural control in the early factory system. His current research focuses on informal processes such as discourse, creativity, impression management and civilization in relation to wider institutional processes. He has published in peer-reviewed journals such asHuman Relations ,Group and Organization Management ,Organization Studies ,International Studies of Management and Organization andOrganization , as well as books, such asThe Civilised Organization . He is also a novelist and columnist.
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate how adaptive and maladaptive humor influence well-being in the workplace. In particular, this study examines the extent to which reactions from others (i.e., humor targets) can moderate the relationship between humor and well-being. Unlike prior research, we adopted a withinperson research design. We used data from a two-week-long diary study of 57 Dutch individuals employed in the automotive sector. Our hierarchical linear modeling analysis found that employees are more engaged on days when they express adaptive humor, while they appear more emotionally exhausted on days when they express maladaptive humor. Reactions from humor targets do not moderate the effects of humor. Using a within-person design, this study makes an important contribution to the humor at work literature, which has focused almost exclusively on inter-individual differences.
About the authors
Hannes Guenter is an assistant professor in the Department of Organization and Strategy at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands. He earned his PhD in work psychology from ETH Zurich in Switzerland. His research interests include team processes (e.g., planning, conflicts), team dynamics, time in organizations, and employee well-being. His research has been published in Human Resource Management, Research Policy, and the Journal of Management & Organization, among others.
Bert Schreurs is an associate professor in the Department of Organization and Strategy at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands. He earned his PhD in psychology from the University of Leuven in Belgium. His current research interests include multilevel methodology, emotional regulation, occupational stress and well-being, and constructive deviance. His work has been published in various journals, such as the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Human Performance, and Work & Stress. Since 2012, he has been an associate editor of Career Development International.
IJ. Hetty Van Emmerik is a full professor of organizational theory and organizational behavior in the Department of Organization and Strategy at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands. Her research interests include organizational behavior and human resource management issues, such as social relationships within organizations (e.g., leadership, working within teams, mentoring, networking, and social support issues) and the association with various career outcomes at the team and individual levels (e.g., team satisfaction, commitment, burnout, and work engagement). Her work has been published in various journals, such as Work & Stress, Work and Occupations, Group and Organization Management, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior.
Wout Gijsbers is a digital media marketeer and strategist, and the owner of 59 STAPLES Sustainable Digital Media Marketing. As both an MSc student at the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics and a BSc student at University College Maastricht, he conducted research on the use of humor in organizational settings. This research has also shaped his approach to the development of Digital Media Marketing strategies within organizations.
Ad Van Iterson is an associate professor of Organization Studies at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. He graduated at the University of Amsterdam, after which he earned his PhD from Maastricht University with a thesis on cultural control in the early factory system. His current research focuses on informal processes such as discourse, creativity, impression management and civilization in relation to wider institutional processes. He has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Human Relations, Group and Organization Management, Organization Studies, International Studies of Management and Organization and Organization, as well as books, such as The Civilised Organization. He is also a novelist and columnist.
©[2013] by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Joking in the face of death: A terror management approach to humor production
- Getting dirty with humor: Co-constructing workplace identities through performative scripts
- The sacred comedy: The problems and possibilities of Peter Berger's Theory of Humor
- Affinity for political humor: An assessment of internal factor structure, reliability, and validity
- How adaptive and maladaptive humor influence well-being at work: A diary study
- Humor styles, risk perceptions, and risky behavioral choices in college students
- The impact of gelotophobia, gelotophilia and katagelasticism on creativity
- An existentialist account of the role of humor against oppression
- >Book review
- Book review
- Book review
- Book review
- Book review
- Book review