Humor is a double
-edged sword

After nine months, Sarah had an appointment with her boss, Janet Chung, and the agenda included a review of Sarah's job performance. Sarah thought that she had done well. She had brought in a great deal of business to her company, had represented the company at professional meetings, and interacted well with coworkers.

Janet was a person who thought she had a great sense of humor. She would tell jokes at company meetings and people would laugh politely. She interpreted the laughter as a sign that she should continue to be humorous. Janet thought a great deal of Sarah's work and looked forward to the meeting since the feedback about Sarah's first nine months would be positive. Trying to be light and witty, Sarah used a light-hearted tone when saying, "I think that you are making progress toward the possibility of being hired for the second year." Janet did not take this feedback well and wondered if she should seek a job elsewhere.

Sarah was trying to use humor as a communication tool but she slipped on a banana peel. Humor is most effective when all parties know that fun and laughter are the goals of people's activities. When we watch the Tonight Show, we expect Jay Leno to tell jokes rather than give a lecture on the problems of the underclass. When we attend informal gatherings with friends on a Saturday evening, we know that there will be lighthearted banter. But when we meet with our bosses about performance evaluations, there may be a problem if the people involved have different expectations.

If Sarah knew that Janet used humor as a way of communicating her positive attitudes about others, then the meeting might have been a success. But after only nine months in the organization, Sarah might not have known this aspect of Janet's approach to meetings.

Without a shared framework for performance evaluations and accurate expectations about behavior during the meeting, there is the danger of miscommunication. This was certainly the case in the meeting between Sarah and Janet.

Another problem with Janet's behavior is that she mishandled a key aspect of humor. Funny stories involve two or more concepts that are twisted and manipulated in a novel manner. People listening to jokes experience a sense of discovery when they figure out the twist and then experience the pleasure that accompanies laughter.

Consider this workplace example. A reporter tells the city editor, "The baggage handlers at the airport staged a work slowdown as a protest against management."

The editor replies, "How could anybody tell?"

The two concepts being twisted are work slowdowns and the time it usually takes for people to receive their luggage while waiting at the carousels. Hasn't everyone noticed that their bags seem to be the last ones to arrive?

The reporter is likely to recognize the juxtaposition of the two concepts and might find the editor's comment humorous. In the case involving Sarah and Janet, however, two concepts that could form the basis for humor are not clear.

Janet's lame combination of her positive attitude about Sarah and her actual comment are not likely to be appreciated by listeners.