Development and validation of the humour at work scale

Anecdotally, people maintain that one characteristic of a satisfactory workplace is associating with others who have a 'good sense of humour'. The aim of the present study was to create a metric for the way people both use humour in the workplace and perceive the humour of those with whom they work. The question was whether work humour differs from general humour. From previous studies on humour in general and humour in work settings, items for a Humour at Work (HAW) scale were created and validated against scales measuring individual differences and work-place measures...It was concluded that people report their use of humour in the work situation differently from their use of humour in a general social context. In addition they perceive the humour of others in the workplace to be relevant to their own level of anxiety, to their job satisfaction and to their perception of the productivity of their workplace. Because the HAW is about humour, it appears to be 'off the record' and is not influenced by 'impression management' or 'mood'. The 13 item HAW was not meaningfully related to influences such as age, gender, or level of employment or even to measures of personality characteristics

Does humour at work make a difference?

Abstract not available

Demographic differences in humour measurements: if it's male, managed but not mature, is it work humour?

The prevailing notion of an individual having a distinct humour style, closely related to personality and enduring over a range of contexts (e.g Thorson and Powell,1993) is challenged in this comparative analysis of demographic factors in the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ - Martin et al., 2003) and scales from the longer form of the Humour at Work (HAW) scale. A sample of Australian workers responded to both the HSQ and the HAW and their details of gender, position and age were recorded. Controlling for age, contrasts to Martin’s findings were found. These may reflect different uses of humour in the workplace. Scales of the long HAW were analyzed, controlling for age. Gender was a main effect for 'Gossip' and 'Stirring' and a main effect of position was marginally significant for 'Sharing'. The most intriguing finding involved an interaction between position and gender for the scale 'Stirring' of the HAW

Is humour different at work?

Abstract not available

'I do it differently at work': differences in humour in different environments

Martin (2006) has suggested as the basis for the Humor Styles Questionnaire (Martin, et al., 2003) that people can be distinguished from each other in the ways that they see themselves using humour in everyday situations including work interactions. The aim of the present research was to find out if people differ in the way they report using humour in the work place compared with the way they report using humour socially or at home. As part of a larger study, participants responding to an Internet questionnaire, were asked to write free responses about their use of humour in these situations. The results were analysed using QSR NVivo 7. Generally people responded that they did have differences in the type of humour and ways of delivery between the three environments and these will be discussed. The amount and type of humour used at work also differed when they recalled they were stressed compared to when they were relaxed

Why we need positive humour at work

Managers and human resources personnel will be interested in this study which reports on the effects of positive and negative humour on personal fear and anxiety at work and job satisfaction and productivity. Previous stages of this research presented to the AHSN included a survey of the field (2006) qualitative data analysis (2007) and the quantitative validation of the Humour at Work scale (2008). Humour is an unofficial form of communication made as a 'break' from serious concentrated endeavour. Positive humour suppresses negative humour in the workplace. Negative humour increases personal fear and anxiety at work, leading to a decrease in job satisfaction. Results indicate that job satisfaction explains nearly 40% of the variance of productivity. There is a direct effect of negative humour which explains 9% of the variance in productivity

Personality in work humour: only when people are pleasant

The approaches taken in the development of most questionnaires in the area of humour studies involved the assumption of major dimensions and then the creation of items tailored for them, for example, Martin et al. (HSQ; 2003), Thorson and Powell (MSHS; 1993) and Booth-Butterfield and Booth-Butterfield (HOS; 1991). In particular, Ruch and Kohler’s (STCI: 1998) model was strongly influenced by the Five Factor Model of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1992). Specific items within each questionnaire typically refer to a range of different environments, making the assumption that people behave somewhat similarly across situations. Theories of 'Emotional Labour' (Hoschchild, 2003) and 'Impression Management' (Goffman, 2004), however, suggested that in some situations personality characteristics are suppressed. The present study describes the development of an instrument specifically constructed to gauge a person’s use of and reaction to humor in the work-place. Correlations with personality measures were found to be 'practically' significant in those scales which made up a 'Pleasant Climate' at work, whereas those scales which indicated an 'Unpleasant Climate' only showed trends in their relationships with personality measures. These findings accord with Foster's (2004) review that when groups are under pressure, conformity is essential to survival