Joking aside: Theorizing laughter in organizations

Abstract

Humour is becoming an increasingly prevalent topic in organization studies. On the one hand, humour is said to enable workers to undermine management control; on the other hand, humour is said to provide managers with a resource for ensuring compliance with corporate objectives. This paper seeks to challenge the duality found in the literature between rebellious and disciplinary forms of humour by examining the meaning and significance of laughter in organizations. Following Bergson, it will be argued that laughter serves to rectify overly rigid behaviour that has temporarily disrupted the natural elasticity of life. This will serve to attune us to the way in which laughter -whether it is directed at a dominant group or a marginalized group -plays a socially normative role in organizations through processes of ridicule and embarrassment.

Challenging and destabilizing official discourses: irony as a resistance resource in institutional talk

“…However, the distinction is nearly always not clearcut: humour can be ambivalent and contradictory, especially when relying on irony, sarcasm and satire. Butler (2015) questions the duality between contestive 'humour as workplace resistance' and repressive 'humour as a management resource' forms of workplace humour found in organizational research. Instead of viewing humour as either challenging authority or maintaining order, Butler proposes a theory on laughter in organizations that acknowledges the simultaneous collective and corrective functions of laughter and humour.…”

“…A variety of classifications of it have been put forth as a result (e.g. Raskin 2008;Butler 2015). In the 1980s, however, as part of the rise of psychological and management research, humour's importance for organizational (corporate) cultures began to be more generally emphasized (Raskin 2008).…”

‘The costumes don’t do it for me’: Obstacles to the translation of ‘new’ management ideas

“…Greatbatch and Clark (2003) analysed how gurus, such as Tom Peters and Gary Hamel, use ‘humour’ during their public lectures, which is understood to play an important role in establishing and retaining ‘converts’ to their management theories (Greatbatch and Clark, 2003: 1517). This argument suggests that humour can be used to aid translation, which resonates with a ‘humour as a management resource’ approach (Butler, 2013: 2).…”

The power of humour to unite and divide: a case study of design coordination meetings in construction

“…The prevalence of humour research has increased in recent years, as its influence in the workplace has become increasingly recognized (Butler 2015). Previous lack of interest can be attributed to the historical perspective that humour was considered an emotion; consequently, this was the antithesis of rationality and, therefore, of less critical importance within organizational settings.…”