Effectiveness of a Humor-Based Training for Reducing Employees’ Distress

Jose M. León-Pérez, Francisco J. Cantero-Sánchez, Ángela Fernández-Canseco and José M. León-Rubio
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Jose M. León-Pérez: Department of Social Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
Francisco J. Cantero-Sánchez: Department of Social Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
Ángela Fernández-Canseco: Department of Social Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Sevilla, Spain
José M. León-Rubio: Department of Social Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Sevilla, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that humor can impact interpersonal relationships in organizations and employee well-being. However, there is little evidence coming from intervention studies in organizational settings. In response, we developed a training following the principles of positive psychology that aims at improving employees’ adaptive use of humor as a successful mechanism to deal with stress. In this study, we assess the effectiveness of such training and its impact on employee well-being. Results from this one-group intervention study in an emergency ambulance service (N = 58) revealed that the participants reported higher levels of cheerfulness ( Z = ?3.93; p < 0.001) and lower levels of seriousness ( Z = ?3.32; p < 0.001) after being exposed to the training. Indeed, the participants reported lower scores on psychological distress after the training ( Z = ?3.35; p < 0.001). The effect size of the training was medium ( r = 0.31 to 0.36), suggesting that interventions to improve adaptive humor at work can be a useful resource to deal with workplace stress and foster employee well-being. These results may have interesting implications for designing and implementing positive interventions as well as for developing healthy organizations.

Keywords: sense of humor; coping strategies; cheerfulness; seriousness; positive psychology; psychological well-being; social learning theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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