But while laughter can bring employees together, it can also become a source of discomfort, especially when it is forced upon them by management.
So suggests a study published in the Academy of Management Journal. Its authors hypothesised that humour does not necessarily have the same positive impact at work, depending on who is making the joke.
For example, when someone high up in the hierarchy has a sense of humour, subordinates often feel obliged to laugh at their jokes.
In sociology, this phenomenon is known as “surface acting.” It refers to an emotional state in which one feigns emotions that are not actually felt.
In the long run, the consequences of surface acting can be harmful, especially in terms of mental health.
An employee who systematically forces themselves to laugh at their boss’s jokes may experience emotional dissonance, which can be an additional source of stress at work.
The authors of the study found evidence of this after conducting an experiment with 212 volunteers, explains Business Insider, reporting on the findings of this research.
Participants were divided into groups of three to five people to take part in what the researchers had described to them as a focus group session.
As soon as they arrived at the bookstore where the event was taking place, the volunteers were greeted by a professional actor in his fifties. He introduced himself as the bookstore’s vice-president of sales.
While his official title remained unchanged, the actor’s behaviour varied according to the group of volunteers.
In some cases, he dressed in business attire and introduced himself to the participants in a formal manner, using “Mr” followed by a surname, which gave him a certain authority.
In other groups, he dressed more casually and encouraged volunteers to talk to him as if he were a friend.
The academics sometimes asked the actor to make jokes to the people around him, to see how they would react to his humorous remarks.
As it turned out, the participants tended to force themselves to laugh at his jokes. But their reactions were particularly exaggerated when the actor embodied an authority figure in their eyes, rather than just a friendly individual.
Jokes at work are fine… in moderation
There’s no doubt that this phenomenon is amplified in the workplace. If your boss is a joker at heart, chances are you’ll laugh out loud at the slightest of their quips – even if they barely make you smile.
After all, your next promotion or pay rise may depend on it. “When the boss tells a joke that is not hilarious, the employee has to decide whether to fake laugh or not,” study co-author, Randall Peterson, told Business Insider.
“That decision takes energy, no matter the decision. If they fake laugh, that is additional emotional labour that takes energy away from work.”
Because feigning emotions – whether positive or negative – is a job in itself. Doing so on a daily basis is exhausting, both psychologically and physically.
Randall Peterson and colleagues claim that, over the long term, this superficial acting can contribute to employee malaise and disengagement.
But what about the boss? Are they aware of the harmful effects of their penchant for jokes and puns? Not necessarily.
Laughter and smiles are often seen as signs of goodwill, even if they are forced. A manager who receives positive reactions to their jokes – whether genuine or feigned – may be tempted to double down on them in the office, creating a vicious circle.
That’s not to say, however, that humour has no place at work.
Humour is extremely useful for getting messages across, de-dramatising complex situations, improving the work atmosphere and boosting performance. Just don’t overdo it.
“You can have too much of a good thing! More is not always better. Or think of humour like Marmite – a little goes a long way, and not everyone likes it,” Randall Peterson told Business Insider. As is often the case, it’s all a question of moderation.