Nothing to Laugh About: Student Interns' Use of Humor in Response to Workplace Dissatisfaction

Abstract

Humor is an important option for employees responding to frustrating circumstances because humorous responses can be less confrontational than alternative ways of expressing dissatisfaction. The present study examined how student interns enacted humor as a response to workplace dissatisfaction. Results indicated a continuum of humorous messages and a variety of goals motivating those messages. These findings demonstrate the nuances in humor as a way of communicating dissatisfaction while also underscoring the need to further understand how goals and outcomes are related as employees dissent. At a deeper level, these results speak to issues of power and identity as low-positioned, contingent employees used humor to recast their identities apart from their status and to negotiate the boundaries of acceptable communication.