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Hu X. Leader humor: A double-edged sword. Curr Opin Psychol 2023; 54:101698. [PMID: 37949008 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Leader humor has been considered one of the most promising yet least understood influential tools by psychologists and management scholars. Here, I review the growing body of research on leader humor and its implications for followers and organizations, showing that despite being theorized as a positive leadership tool, leader humor can function as a double-edged sword in bringing both beneficial and detrimental outcomes for followers and organizations.In the process, I identify six distinct mechanisms (three positive and three negative) through which leader humor affects followers. In a way, leader humor can be used to reduce or increase the social and psychological distance between leaders and followers. I also discuss the directions for future research on leader humor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoran Hu
- The author affiliation is the Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK.
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2
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Kong DT. Humor research in management: Humor as Social Information (HASI). Curr Opin Psychol 2023; 54:101692. [PMID: 37788522 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Humor research is flourishing in Management. Diverse theories have been adopted and diverse factors have been used in research. Nonetheless, these disconnected efforts pose challenges to the development of a coherent body of knowledge on humor in organizational life. I propose the Humor-as-Social-Information (HASI) framework regarding the social effects of humor, and use it to guide my review on recent humor research in Management. Humor evokes affective and inferential processes leading to perceivers' cognitions and behaviors, and these processes are moderated by two sets of factors, including (1) information-processing motivation/ability and (2) humor inappropriateness. The proposed HASI framework highlights how humor exerts social influence within organizations, and paves new avenues for future research that will help further develop "humor science."
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Affiliation(s)
- Dejun Tony Kong
- Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder, USA.
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Tian G, Liu T, Yang R. Workplace loneliness mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support and job performance: Differing by extraversion. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1058513. [PMID: 36993879 PMCID: PMC10040808 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1058513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the mediating role of workplace loneliness relating perceived organizational support to job performance, as well as the moderating role of extraversion in such relationship. 332 full-time Chinese employees from various enterprises voluntarily participated in the two-wave surveys via either paper-and-pencil or online survey conducted at Credamo and Tencent Questionnaire website. Hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analyses were employed to examine the hypotheses. Results indicated that workplace loneliness partially mediates the linkage between perceived organizational support and job performance; extraversion serves as a moderator in the relationship between workplace loneliness and job performance, as well as the mediating role of workplace loneliness linking perceived organizational support to job performance, such that the relationship is stronger when extraversion is high. Supplementary analyses revealed that social companionship, but not emotional deprivation, serves as a mediator in the relationship between perceived organizational support and job performance; extraversion enhanced the direct influence of social companionship on job performance, as well as the indirect influence of perceived organizational support on job performance via social companionship. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guomei Tian
- School of Business, Xi’an University of Finance and Economics, Xi'an, Shanxi, China
| | - Tingting Liu
- School of Management, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Tingting Liu,
| | - Ruo Yang
- School of Management, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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Shi Y, Su J, Zhang N, Ma H. Craft a job better, recover better? The roles of work–nonwork conflict and work demands. Psych J 2022; 12:238-249. [PMID: 36455922 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Based on the conservation of resources theory, this two-wave study investigated the mediating role of work-nonwork conflict in the relationship between job crafting and employee recovery experience and examined the moderating role of work demands in this relationship. Participants were 486 employees (39.3% male and 60.7% female) from a medical company in the central region of China who responded to a paper-and-pencil survey twice with a 1-month interval. Regression-based results indicated that job crafting positively predicted recovery experience after work through lower work-nonwork conflict. Furthermore, the association between job crafting and work-nonwork conflict was moderated by work demands, such that the effect was stronger for employees with higher work demands. The present study explains how job crafting may improve employees' after-work recovery experience and addresses whether this process could be more significant for employees with higher work demands. The conclusion has practical implications for improving employee recovery experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanwei Shi
- School of Psychology Central China Normal University; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education Wuhan China
- Department of Human Resource Management Shanghai Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Jingxuan Su
- School of Psychology Central China Normal University; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education Wuhan China
| | - Nan Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University Beijing China
| | - Hongyu Ma
- School of Psychology Central China Normal University; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education Wuhan China
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Wang X, Liu S, Feng W. How leader humor stimulates subordinate boundary-spanning behavior: A social information processing theory perspective. Front Psychol 2022; 13:956387. [PMID: 36186302 PMCID: PMC9520787 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.956387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Based on social information processing theory, we provide a novel theoretical account of how and when leader humor influences subordinate boundary-spanning behavior. We develop a moderated mediation model explicating the mechanism of psychological safety and the boundary condition of subordinate interpersonal influence. Using multiwave data, we tested our research hypotheses with a sample of 452 members from 140 teams in a Chinese information technology (IT) company. Results showed that leader humor positively affects subordinate boundary-spanning behavior via increased psychological safety. Moreover, this mediated effect is stronger when subordinates have high interpersonal influence. These findings offer theoretical and practical insights into boundary-spanning activities and leader humor, which we discuss.
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Wojtczuk-Turek A. Who needs transformational leadership to craft their job? The role of work engagement and personal values. BALTIC JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1108/bjm-04-2022-0170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss relationships between transformational leadership and job crafting. Using the job demands-resource (JD-R) theory, this study investigates the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between transformational leadership and job crafting. The author has also tested the moderating roles of personal values.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on data from 450 knowledge workers representing companies of various sizes from the knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) sector in Poland. The questionnaires were completed using the computer-assisted telephone interview method. The statistical verification of the mediation and moderation analyses was conducted using macro PROCESS (ver. 3.3).FindingsThe findings show that transformational leadership was positively related to job crafting. Statistical analysis also confirmed the research hypothesis that as a personal resource, self-enhancement values moderate relationships between transformational leadership and work engagement, thus strengthening them. The study integrated research on leadership and personal and organisational resources to examine the collective impact of these variables on employee job crafting.Originality/valueThe study is the first to explore the mediating mechanism (through work engagement) between transformational leadership and job crafting in the context of KIBS companies in Poland.
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Nong L, Ye JH, Hong JC. The Impact of Empowering Leadership on Preschool Teachers’ Job Well-Being in the Context of COVID-19: A Perspective Based on Job Demands-Resources Model. Front Psychol 2022; 13:895664. [PMID: 35693485 PMCID: PMC9186648 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.895664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 epidemic in the early 2020s is making a big difference for educators around the world. For the past 2 years, the curriculum and working patterns have been overturned in response to this epidemic, which has brought unprecedented challenges and physical and mental stress to preschool teachers. This situation can have a drastic impact on the acquisition of job well-being for preschool teachers. During this special time, the leader’s management style will also influence the psychological feelings of the organization’s staff. For example, empowering leadership is an important management function that empowers subordinates, emphasizes the meaning of work, promotes participation in decision-making, and expresses confidence. Therefore, in the current COVID-19 pandemic context, it is worthwhile to explore the topic of empowering leadership to ensure preschool teachers’ well-being, by balancing work demands and work resources in a way that facilitates a sense of organizational support and reduces job stress, while relatively fewer studies have been conducted on the relationship between preschool teachers’ job well-being in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on this, this study proposed a research model from the theoretical perspective of the Job Demands-Resources Model to explore the influence of empowering leadership, sense of organizational support, and job stress on preschool teachers’ job well-being in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the purpose of this study, a convenience sampling method was used to invite 500 preschool teachers in China to complete a questionnaire survey, and after removing invalid samples and data with incomplete answers, reliability and validity analyses and model fit tests were conducted, followed by a structural equation modeling method for path analysis. The results of the study showed that (1) in the kindergarten work context, empowering leadership showed a significant negative effect on job stress, but a significant positive effect on job well-being and a significant positive effect on sense of organizational support. (2) Sense of organizational support had a significant negative effect on job stress but a significant positive effect on preschool teachers’ job well-being. (3) Preschool teachers’ job stress and job well-being showed a significant negative effect. The contribution of this study was to explore the relationship between understanding leadership empowerment and preschool teachers’ job well-being in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic based on the Job Demands-Resources Model, which will facilitate educational organizational contexts to empower preschool teachers to work harder to reduce their job stress as well as enhance their sense of organizational support and promote the acquisition of job well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liying Nong
- Dhurakij Pundit University, Bangkok, Thailand
- School of Education and Music, Hezhou University, Hezhou, China
| | - Jian-Hong Ye
- Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Jian-Hong Ye,
| | - Jon-Chao Hong
- Department of Industrial Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Li S, Meng B, Wang Q. The Double-Edged Sword Effect of Relational Crafting on Job Well-Being. Front Psychol 2022; 13:713737. [PMID: 35250699 PMCID: PMC8888416 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.713737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Is relational crafting always beneficial? Despite the increasing research on the positive outcomes of relational crafting, some evidence still indicates its dysfunctional consequences. The current study proposed a double-edged sword effect of relational crafting on job well-being, including work dynamics and emotional exhaustion, with an integrative perspective from the resource loss and resource acquisition perspectives based on the job demands-resources model and the conservation of resources theory. By conducting a two-stage questionnaire survey on 323 employees, the results demonstrate that: (1) On the one hand, relational crafting induces emotional exhaustion through increased work load; (2) On the other hand, relational crafting also displays positive effect on increasing work dynamics and decreasing emotional exhaustion by fostering supervisor-subordinate guanxi. By analyzing the double-edged sword effect of subordinates’ relational crafting on job well-being from the two processes of resource loss and resource acquisition effects, a more complete influencing mechanism between relational crafting and job well-being is constructed, which improves the understanding of relational crafting, enriches the literature on proactive behavior and provides a more integrated theoretical basis for researchers and managers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanshan Li
- Department of Industrial Economics, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Meng
- Department of Economics and Management, Hengshui University, Hengshui, China
| | - Qingjin Wang
- Business School, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
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Choi Y, Ha SB, Choi D. Leader Humor and Followers’ Change-Oriented Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Role of Leader Machiavellianism. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022; 12:bs12020022. [PMID: 35200274 PMCID: PMC8868625 DOI: 10.3390/bs12020022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the mechanisms by which leader humor affects followers’ change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior. Specifically, we examine the mediation effect of team commitment in the leader humor–change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior link and whether it varied by leader Machiavellianism. Using multi-sourced data from the four battalions of the Republic of Korean Army, our findings show that team commitment mediated the positive relationship between leaders’ affiliative humor and followers’ change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, the mediated relationship was stronger when leader Machiavellianism was lower. On the other hand, we found no support for the negative relationship between leaders’ aggressive humor and followers’ change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongjun Choi
- College of Business Administration, Hongik University, Seoul 04066, Korea;
| | - Sun-Bok Ha
- College of Law and Politics, Kyungnam University, Changwon 51767, Korea
- Correspondence:
| | - Dongwon Choi
- Ewha School of Business, Ewha Womans Univeristy, Seoul 03760, Korea;
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Yuan Y. Leader-Employee Congruence in Humor and Innovative Behavior: The Moderating Role of Dynamic Tenure. Front Psychol 2021; 12:579551. [PMID: 33746818 PMCID: PMC7973860 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.579551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Drawing upon the literature on complementary fit theory, the purpose of this study is to examine how the dynamic tenure moderates the relationship between leader–employee congruence/incongruence in humor and employee innovative behavior. Data were collected from 108 leader–employee dyads from information technology companies in China. Polynomial regression combined with the response surface methodology was used to test the hypotheses. Four conclusions were drawn. First, employee innovative behavior was maximized when leaders and employees were incongruent in humor. Second, in the case of incongruence, employees had higher innovative behavior when employees were more humorous than their leaders. Third, in the case of congruence, employees had higher innovative behavior when a leader’s and an employee’s humor matched at high levels. Fourth, dynamic tenure moderated the leader–employee congruence/incongruence effect of humor on employee innovative behavior. This study enhanced theoretical developments by considering the importance of leaders’ congruence with employees in humor for the first time. Additionally, the research results provided better practical guidance for effectively promoting employee innovative behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Yuan
- School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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How Toxic Workplace Environment Effects the Employee Engagement: The Mediating Role of Organizational Support and Employee Wellbeing. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18052294. [PMID: 33652564 PMCID: PMC7956351 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18052294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2020] [Revised: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
This study explores the effects of a toxic workplace environment (TWE) on employee engagement (EE). Building on conservation of resources (COR) theory and organizational support theory (OST), this study proposed a research model. In this research model, a toxic workplace environment negatively affected employee engagement, directly and indirectly, through organizational support (OS) and employee well-being (EW). In this study, we used a quantitative research approach, and data were collected from 301 workers employed in the small and medium-size enterprises of China. To estimate the proposed relationships of the research model, we used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM 3.2.2). The results of this study confirmed that a toxic workplace environment has a negative impact on employee engagement. Moreover, the findings of this research confirm that organizational support and employee well-being significantly mediate a toxic workplace environment and employee engagement. The conclusions of this study are as follows: First, the direct relationship between a toxic workplace environment and employee engagement confirms that if employees are working in a toxic environment, they will spread negative feelings among other co-workers. The feelings that come with a toxic workplace environment, i.e., harassment, bullying, and ostracism, can be detrimental and lead to unnecessary stress, burnout, depression, and anxiety among the workers. Second, employee well-being will affect employee behaviors that enhance employee engagement with the work as well as with the organization. Third, organizational support also increases employee engagement with the work as well as with the organization. So, it is also confirmed that when workers perceive the support from the organization, their sense of belonging to the organization is strengthened.
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