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Humor in the workplace has long been seen as a��soft skill, useful for breaking the ice or bonding over awkward moments on Zoom. But��Tony Kong, professor in the��Leeds School of Business, believes it’s far more than that. A leading researcher on workplace humor, he sees it as a powerful leadership tool that could help professionals navigate power dynamics, build trust and even elevate their status on the job.

Tony Kong

“Humor is a life skill. It’s great at a party, and it’s great in a meeting. But it’s not just about being funny. It’s about understanding your audience, your timing and your intent,” said Kong, who also directs Leeds’ Business Leadership Certificate program. “When done right, humor can increase trust, boost creativity, promote emotional well-being and even facilitate conflict resolution.”

An emerging field

Once dismissed as more playful than practical, humor is gaining traction as a serious subject of study in management. Researchers have been exploring its impact—both positive and negative—on leadership, negotiations, team dynamics and workplace culture.

Kong has spent a decade studying humor in professional settings and has published numerous papers on its role in leadership and organizational settings.

“There’s been a surge in research,” said Kong. “People are realizing humor plays an important role in negotiations, leadership, teamwork and culture. It’s also important to people’s health and well-being.”

His latest research proposes a framework for understanding workplace humor that shifts the focus from the content of the joke to the motive behind it. Instead of labeling humor as sarcastic, dry or self-deprecating, he classifies it by purpose: Is the humor meant to build connection, ease tension, impress others or cover up discomfort?��

That perspective echoes what leadership coaches have noted—that humor can build inclusion, ease tension and break down hierarchies, but it’s also often misunderstood. Kong’s advice: Think more about how your intent will be received. “One should take the perspective of the audience and think ahead whether and how a joke can convey a constructive motive and thus be appreciated in a given situation,” he said.

Humor is a powerful but risky tool, Kong added, especially in diverse or global workplaces.��

“Humor can be inclusive or exclusive,” Kong said. “It can strengthen bonds or reinforce hierarchies. That’s why we need to study it more seriously, especially in diverse and cross-cultural settings.”

Intent matters

Kong’s newest research on workplace humor,�� in May in the Journal of Management Studies and co-authored by Cecily D. Cooper of the University of Miami in Florida and Sharon B. Sheridan of Clemson University in South Carolina, draws on six studies and more than 1,000 participants. The goal: to rethink how humor is measured and studied in organizations and to build a stronger foundation for future research. The findings suggest that whether humor helps or harms depends less on the joke itself and more on how it is perceived.

For example, a roast or teasing among colleagues might seem risky on the surface, but when interpreted as communal (for example, relationship-building) rather than self-serving or aggressive, it can build trust. One study cited in the paper found that “putdown humor” among police officers fostered team cohesion when framed as a sign of group belonging.

“Humor is all about how it’s received,” Kong said. “The same joke can land very differently depending on who tells it, who hears it, when and how it’s told, and what the perceived motive is.”

That perception can matter in high-stakes situations, too, like job interviews. A well-placed joke, particularly one that reveals self-awareness, can be disarming and memorable. However, a bad joke or over-use of jokes can undermine one’s credibility and create awkwardness.��

“Answering ‘What’s your greatest weakness?’ with a bit of humor can work—if it shows authenticity and emotional intelligence,” Kong said.

But humor can also backfire. Kong points to�� by organizational scholars showing that employees often feel pressured to laugh at a boss’s jokes, regardless of whether they’re funny. That kind of “forced laughter,” Kong says, can contribute to emotional exhaustion and job dissatisfaction.

A teachable tool

So what does this mean for ambitious professionals? As Kong sees it, humor is a strategic skill worth developing.

He believes business schools—and business leaders—should take humor seriously, as it’s a fundamental element of interpersonal communication and it intersects with power, status, inclusion, creativity, trust, ethics, psychological safety and well-being.

“Business schools have a lot to gain from incorporating humor into their curriculum,” Kong said. “I’ve been exploring and ideating how to teach it through both research-based insights and interactive learning experiences in business schools in different regions of the world.”

Some MBA programs are beginning to explore humor more formally. For example, Stanford’s business school offers a�� in business, focused on using levity to build stronger teams and drive innovation.

While the goal isn’t to turn business school students into comedians, Kong said, teaching future leaders to read the room, build genuine and healthy connections with humor, lead with authenticity, and help others enhance emotional well-being can give them a competitive edge in today’s dynamic, fast-changing and stressful workplaces.

Plus, humor can help people laugh together, and leaders should laugh with others. Humor, when used appropriately, can create a more cohesive, egalitarian, and healthy workplace in which people thrive, Kong said lightheartedly, adding: “We take our work seriously, but can we not take ourselves too seriously?”