Was that Zinger Supposed to Sting? The Interaction Between Humor Use and Abusive Supervision

Bibliographic Data

ID13653128
AuthorsRushika De Bruin (0000-0002-9770-0032, Human Resources, Citizens Bank, Johnston, RI, USA, corresponding author), Courtney L Baker (0000-0002-6141-0340, East Carolina University), Timothy Skinner (0000-0002-0018-6963, East Carolina University), Trevor E Skinner (East Carolina University), Morgan G Tillery (Northern Illinois University), Lisa M Finkelstein (0000-0002-2903-7726, Northern Illinois University)
Year2025
Pages332941251355951-332941251355951
Publication date2025-07-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychological Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00332941251355951
PMID40741657
OpenAlexW4412782191
LanguageEN
References cited60

We investigate how a leader's use of humor might change the perceptions of that leader's feedback, which then influences perceptions of leader-member exchange (LMX). Additionally, we explore how employee coping humor and situational attributions impact this relationship. A 2 (Leader Behavior: Abusive, Supportive) × 2 (Leader Humor: Present, Not Present) between-subjects experimental design was utilized ( N = 467). Participants read a vignette describing an interaction between a leader and a subordinate and imagined themselves as the subordinate. Leader feedback interacted with both humor condition and employee coping humor to predict abusive supervision (AS). Furthermore, these behaviors indirectly affected LMX through AS. Both injury attributions and performance attributions moderated the relationship between abusive supervision and LMX. We discuss the interplay of leader behaviors, humor use, and coping humor as employee job resources. There is evidence of a potential harmful effect of humor use by leaders on employee AS perceptions and subsequently on LMX perceptions, specifically in situations without abusive behaviors. Leader use of humor is not always positive when providing feedback to employees. If leaders provide positive feedback and then joke with employees, they can be perceived as abusive

Abusive supervision · Attribution · Coping (psychology · Joke · Perception · Psychotherapist · Situational ethics · Vignette · Communication in Education and Healthcare · Film in Education and Therapy · Humor Studies and Applications · Psychology · Social Psychology

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