Humor in the workplace can be a double-edged sword, as while it can undoubtedly help to form bonds and ease tensions, it can also cause offense and cause division. Research from the University of Missouri highlights how this balancing act can be especially tricky for women.

Successful use of humor in the workplace by women depends on a range of factors, including their status and even whether the humor is directed at other women or not. The findings emerged after a study designed to understand how people react to humor from both men and women in the workplace.

Humor at work

The researchers surveyed volunteers who were tasked with reading a number of workplace scenarios in which both men and women attempted to make a humorous remark. The scenarios were identical except for the gender and status of the joker, as well as the target of the joke and whether it was friendly or aggressive humor. The survey attempted to gauge how foolish the volunteers thought the joker to be.

For instance, one of the scenarios took place in a hospital, with personnel discussing the challenges surrounding the death of a patient. One female nurse stutters in her attempt to share an idea and is interrupted by a colleague making a humorous comment. The status and gender of the joker were modified, and when it appeared as though it was told by a man they were viewed positively, as were high-profile women. When a low-status woman appeared to make the joke, however, she was viewed negatively. Similar changes were observed when the gender of the butt of the joke was changed.

“Women who used humor directed toward a man were seen as positive,” the authors explain. “But when a high-status woman used humor directed toward a woman of lower status in the workplace, she was seen as negative and was judged as more foolish.”

They believe their findings underline how important it is to hold off on any immediate judgments about people based on any humor they may deploy, and question whether these judgments are underlined by any biases or preconceived notions about the individual in question.

“This research amplifies the fact that we even have inherent biases that influence how we view people who are using humor,” the researchers say. “If someone is questioning someone’s sense of humor, they should ask themselves, ‘Would I be making this same judgment if the person using the humor looked more like me?'”