The Double-Edged Sword: Unraveling the Dual Outcomes of Workplace Humor on the Social Identity of Employees

Building on the social identity theory, this conceptual article proposes a process model to understand the linkage between workplace humor and the social identity change experiences of employees. Further, it identifies the underlying mechanisms and conditions which impact the positive and negative i...

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Main Author: Sana Mumtaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ubiquity Press 2024-10-01
Series:International Review of Social Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://account.rips-irsp.com/index.php/up-j-irsp/article/view/935
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author Sana Mumtaz
author_facet Sana Mumtaz
author_sort Sana Mumtaz
collection DOAJ
description Building on the social identity theory, this conceptual article proposes a process model to understand the linkage between workplace humor and the social identity change experiences of employees. Further, it identifies the underlying mechanisms and conditions which impact the positive and negative identity changes during this process. Based on the proposed model, it is suggested that exposure to negative workplace humor is likely to lead to employee surface acting particularly when the need for social affiliation is high among individuals. On the one hand, identity synergy would facilitate positive emotions and psychological safety and is likely to support improved voice behavior in employees. On the other hand, perceptions of identity conflict would trigger negative emotions and lead to emotional exhaustion and expressed rudeness at the workplace; such individuals would engage in deviant workplace behaviors because of persistent negative experiences. Overall, the proposed conceptual model proposes a thorough relational process model unveiling socio-psychological outcomes of negative workplace humor and needs to be tested in multiple contexts to unveil the role of novel conditional factors impacting internalized change experiences of employees.
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issn 2397-8570
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spelling doaj-art-08ee031eb5ec4b51ba22856140fbf9302024-11-18T07:38:49ZengUbiquity PressInternational Review of Social Psychology2397-85702024-10-01371181810.5334/irsp.935935The Double-Edged Sword: Unraveling the Dual Outcomes of Workplace Humor on the Social Identity of EmployeesSana Mumtaz0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3593-5784Associate Professor, Master of Management, University of Niagara FallsBuilding on the social identity theory, this conceptual article proposes a process model to understand the linkage between workplace humor and the social identity change experiences of employees. Further, it identifies the underlying mechanisms and conditions which impact the positive and negative identity changes during this process. Based on the proposed model, it is suggested that exposure to negative workplace humor is likely to lead to employee surface acting particularly when the need for social affiliation is high among individuals. On the one hand, identity synergy would facilitate positive emotions and psychological safety and is likely to support improved voice behavior in employees. On the other hand, perceptions of identity conflict would trigger negative emotions and lead to emotional exhaustion and expressed rudeness at the workplace; such individuals would engage in deviant workplace behaviors because of persistent negative experiences. Overall, the proposed conceptual model proposes a thorough relational process model unveiling socio-psychological outcomes of negative workplace humor and needs to be tested in multiple contexts to unveil the role of novel conditional factors impacting internalized change experiences of employees.https://account.rips-irsp.com/index.php/up-j-irsp/article/view/935deviant behaviorexpressed rudenessleader identitysocial identity theorysurface actingvoice behaviorworkplace humor
spellingShingle Sana Mumtaz
The Double-Edged Sword: Unraveling the Dual Outcomes of Workplace Humor on the Social Identity of Employees
International Review of Social Psychology
deviant behavior
expressed rudeness
leader identity
social identity theory
surface acting
voice behavior
workplace humor
title The Double-Edged Sword: Unraveling the Dual Outcomes of Workplace Humor on the Social Identity of Employees
title_full The Double-Edged Sword: Unraveling the Dual Outcomes of Workplace Humor on the Social Identity of Employees
title_fullStr The Double-Edged Sword: Unraveling the Dual Outcomes of Workplace Humor on the Social Identity of Employees
title_full_unstemmed The Double-Edged Sword: Unraveling the Dual Outcomes of Workplace Humor on the Social Identity of Employees
title_short The Double-Edged Sword: Unraveling the Dual Outcomes of Workplace Humor on the Social Identity of Employees
title_sort double edged sword unraveling the dual outcomes of workplace humor on the social identity of employees
topic deviant behavior
expressed rudeness
leader identity
social identity theory
surface acting
voice behavior
workplace humor
url https://account.rips-irsp.com/index.php/up-j-irsp/article/view/935
work_keys_str_mv AT sanamumtaz thedoubleedgedswordunravelingthedualoutcomesofworkplacehumoronthesocialidentityofemployees
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