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September 10, 2025Psychological Reports

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

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Authors

RBRushika De BruinCBCourtney L. BakerTSTimothy Skinner

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Overview

Experimental analysis demonstrates how leader humor impacts perceptions of feedback in subordinates, indicating humor may hinder leader-member exchange.

Key Points

  • Leader humor can negatively affect perceptions of abusive supervision and leader-member exchange.
  • Participants in the study (N = 467) viewed vignettes detailing leader interactions and assessed feelings towards feedback.
  • The experimental design allowed examination of humor presence and leader behavior on employee coping humor.
  • Findings suggest humor is not always beneficial for leaders, especially in feedback contexts without abusive behaviors.

Cite This Study

Bruin et al. (2025) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/68c1a27254b1d3bfb60dde00https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941251355951
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1When humor masks abuse: employee responses to abusive supervision through the lens of relational energy2024 · 2 citations
  2. 2A joke a day: Supervisor humor as a buffer against coercive power2026
  3. 3Does leader humor style matter employee knowledge sharing? From the lens of emotional contagion process2024 · 12 citations
  4. 4Inspire or stifle innovation behavior? Exploring bystanders’ differential responses to the leader aggressive humor2025 · 1 citations
  5. 5Exploring the Impact of Leaders’ Failed Humor and Employee Attitude on Leader-Member Exchange2024