In this time of “cool attitude” at work, making jokes sounds welcome to reduce stress, attract attention and reinforce proximity to our counterparts. All the more so since authenticity is valued: if you are funny, why should you refrain from making it known?

In reality, it is not that simple. A team from the University of Arizona studied the positive and negative effects of humor in the workplace. It turns out that these effects depend, of course, from the type of humor, but also largely from who is behind it.

We notably discover that humor tends to reinforce stereotypes. Thus, a sarcastic touch of humor will more often be considered funny if it comes from a Caucasian person, and more often interpreted as aggressive if it comes from an Afro-American. Similarly, a humorous man is perceived as more competent, whereas a woman who jokes sees the perception of her competency degrade. Being funny, yes, but with caution…

Source: Gender and the Evaluation of Humor at Work, Jonathan B. Evans, Jerel E. Slaughter, Aleksander P. J. Ellis, Jessi M. Rivin, Journal of Applied Psychology, February 2019.