Negative Humor: Impact on Mental and Physical Health of Employees

Although a large body of literature has focused on the positive prospects of workplace socialization for employees, inadequate understanding exists about the role of negative humor and how it leads to socio-psychological change experiences in employees. To develop an understanding of the above, a direct linkage of workplace humor with the physical health of employees was developed using the social identity perspective. Moreover, the intervening role of surface acting, negative emotions, and loneliness were incorporated in the model for understanding how mental change experiences translate to health issues in employees. Data were collected from 162 managers working at managerial level positions and structural equational modeling was tested for computing results. The findings suggested an indirect linkage between negative humor and physical health via the intervening role of surface acting, negative emotions, and loneliness. These findings add novel to the literature by suggesting how informal socialization and negative interactions impact the internal processes and physical health of employees with time. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications are offered toward the end of the article.