Can Your Sense of Humor Be Wrong? Exploring the Moderating Influence of Trust on the Relationship Between Leader Humor and Employee Resilience

Abstract

Humor and resilience are increasingly recognized as crucial factors that contribute to the overall functioning and well-being of individuals within organizations. While extensive research has explored the effects of leader humor and employee resilience on organizational outcomes, the relationship between these variables remains underexplored. Additionally, existing literature has suggested the potential moderating role of trust in these dynamics. Thus, this study investigates how employee trust moderates the relationship between leader humor and employee resilience among employees in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies. Utilizing a cross-sectional research design, data were gathered from 391 BPO employees using the Humor Styles Questionnaire, the Employee Resilience Scale, and the Trust in Leader Scale. The results indicate that affiliative leader humor significantly enhances employee resilience, whereas aggressive leader humor significantly diminishes it. Furthermore, employee trust was found to play a crucial moderating role as it weakened the positive effects of affiliative humor and mitigated the negative impact of aggressive humor on employee resilience. Through maximizing the use of these findings, these constructs can be used to foster a positive working environment, promote employee engagement, and enhance organizational effectiveness, ultimately contributing to both employee well-being and organizational success.