Author:

Keywords:

job demands, job resources, burnout, work engagement, humour styles

Abstract:

Building on the call for a more positive oriented psychology, research interested in the impact of personal resources in job design is growing. The current paper aims to add to this line of research by examining the role of self-enhancing and affiliative humour as buffers against the health-impairing associations of job hindrances (i.e. role conflict) and job challenges (i.e. workload), and as intensifyers of the positive associations of job challenges and job resources (i.e. social support). Results in a large sample of Belgian employees (N = 1200) confirmed that affiliative humour buffered for health-impairing association of role conflict. Contrary to expectations both self-enhancing and affiliative humour intensified the negative association of role conflict with work engagement, and compensated for the lack of social support in terms of burnout and work engagement. No interactions with workload were found. Future research may clarify the unexpected results and further examine the humor-health hypothesis, as this study provided initial evidence for the beneficial role of humour in the context of work.