The Role of Humor in the Workplace: Perspectives of Selected Employees from Assessment Analytics, Inc and Department of Tourism

Abstract

Haha and hehe are two words that cannot be found in the English dictionary but are two words which are commonly used by the average Filipino and which signify the use of humor in everyday conversations. Humor is a part of daily life. According to Edward de Bono (1994), “humor is probably the most significant characteristic of the human mind” (p.55 cited in Lumsden & Lumsden 2000 p. 168). Humor, however rampant its use may be, is often reduced to just that: humor. It is deemed inappropriate when humor is used in situations that are seen as “serious.” An example of which is the traditional workplace. In these places, humor is not seen as something that can contribute to the attainment of goals. However, recent studies have shown evidence of a positive relationship between the use of humor and group effectiveness, among other variables in the work situation. To date, there still is no theory on humor here in the Philippines. This study aims to address that gap in knowledge by identifying the perspectives of employees behind the use of humor in terms of: 1) the initiators; 2) the recipients of humorous messages; 3) the kinds of humor used, and; 4) the roles that it plays in the organization. This study also aims to identify which kinds of humor are seen as appropriate in the workplace. Two organizations were selected for this research: Assessment Analytics, Inc and Department of Tourism, which are organizations with flat and tall structures, respectively. The study aims to show the similarities and differences of humor in two differently-structured workplaces. Ten interviews were conducted to gather the necessary data, which were analyzed thematically. According to the interviewees from both companies, initiators can be anyone in the workplace, regardless of age and position. The target recipients can also be anyone in the department or division but at the very least must be acquainted with the sender for communication to take place. It is also interesting to note that although humor is only used with a receiver who has a degree of closeness with the sender, it can also act as a form of self-disclosure, which can deepen intimacy between two people. The kinds of messages or the kinds of humor delivered by the sender are determined by the degree of intimacy between the sender and receiver. These may take the form of inside jokes, green jokes, funny stories and funny comments, among others. This, in turn, determines the roles that is played by humor, which can be one or more of the following: brings people closer/ promotes camaraderie, acts as an icebreaker and boredom buster, acts as an outlet for emotions, masks seeking revenge on someone, conveys work-related messages (suggestions, follow-ups), corrects behavior, makes workload seem lighter, makes people more comfortable with each other, distracts people from doing work, shows power relations in the workplace, makes environment lighter and more relaxed, acts as a form of self-disclosure, shows power relations in the workplace. The study also concluded that there are no significant differences between the use of humor in flat and tall organizations, but the perspectives of the employees from DOT vary greatly, as opposed to the perspectives of the employees from AAI, which are very consistent with each other.