Examining humour in HRD from theoretical and practical perspectives

Conceptual Organization and Identity of HRD: Analyses of Evolving Definitions, Influence, and Connections

“…Related discussion about the expansion of the field is to recognize the transdisciplinary nature of this field beyond interdisciplinary (Ruona, 2016). As an interesting example of a new attempt to expand to uncovered areas, Roth, Yap, and Short (2006) have provided the overview of the role of humor in HRD by presenting humor theory and highlighting the need for a research on the application of humor in HRD. Critical HRD is another emerging interest in HRD that includes the concepts of equity, justice, and organizational democracy (Fenwick, 2005).…”

Humor in context: Fire service and joking culture

“…Over one hundred theories of humor have been developed by a variety of sociologists, philosophers, linguists, and other interested parties (Haig, ). Humor theories are commonly clustered around three areas: superiority, relief, and incongruity (for a brief overview see Roth, Yap, & Short, ). LaFave, Haddad, and Maesen (, p. 89) claimed that an adequate theory of humor must include a: ‘(1) sudden (2) happiness increment (such as a feeling of superiority or heightened self‐esteem) as a consequence of a (3) perceived incongruity ’.…”

“…Several other studies could be mentioned here that establish the importance of humor in the workplace, but our point of contention is that minimal research has been conducted that links humor and human resource development (HRD). Examples include authors who have discussed humor and its potential for training purposes (Boverie, Hoffman, Klein, McClelland, & Oldknow, ; Roth, Yapp, & Short, ), and those who have suggested common ground between the research and practice of humor and HRD (Roth, ; Roth, ).…”