Humor helps women, but hurts men, in mixed gender selections when gender is salient

What is it about?

While diversity research had considered the idea that aggressive or sexual humor between men and women can be harmful, it had not yet considered the idea that positive humor could improve such interactions. Integrating related humor research showing that humor reduces stress, signals warmth, induces positive emotions, and builds relationships, this research tested the idea that positive humor can reduce intergroup anxiety in mixed-gender relations in hiring situations due to the lack of relational history between the interviewer and interviewees. Across three studies and various types of experimental designs, 1,189 hiring managers evaluated hypothetical applicants or recalled their previous experiences hiring applicants. Results showed that mixed-gender interactions did indeed increase interpersonal anxiety and its downstream consequences (e.g., less social attraction and selection, more rejection) in contexts where gender or sexual harassment concerns were salient. While female applicants’ humor reduced this interpersonal anxiety and its downstream effects, male applicants’ humor surprisingly increased it.

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Why is it important?

#MeToo transformed many organizations for the greater good, but it may have also created a negative backlash in the form of increased anxiety between men and women at work. This invisible barrier to mixed gender relations at work can impede progress related to the recruitment, retention, and promotion of our trained female talents, ultimately undermining the potential benefits of diversity. Thus, this research uncovered empirical evidence of a broader anxiety-based #MeToo backlash, while also showing that women's humor reduced it and its negative downstream effects.