Supervisor humor and employee job performance: A moderated mediation model of work enjoyment and suspicion of the supervisor

Abstract

AbstractSupervisor humor has been shown to be related to various employee outcomes. In this vein, prior research has demonstrated the positive role of supervisor humor in increasing employee job performance. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms that explain this relationship. Addressing this gap, the present study develops and tests a moderated mediation model by highlighting work enjoyment as a mediator and suspicion about the supervisor as a moderator. Results from a sample of 190 employees working in a large retail organization showed that work enjoyment mediates the relationship between supervisor humor and subordinates’ job performance and, further, that this indirect effect is dependent upon suspicion of the supervisor.