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Humor, Power, and Change in Organizations

Tom Dwyer

Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13081 Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil; IFCH/DCS, UNICAMP, Caixa Postal 6110, 13081 Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

This paper analyzes joking relationships that are targeted at persons or at those affairs which actors interpret as representing persons. A theory of social relations of work is outlined; the literature illustrates that joking relationships have a content that reflects these relations. The form of joking relationships is then analyzed using Caplow's triad theory; this theory allows humor to be seen as a product of power relations and the contesting of these. The theory claims to be able to predict the likelihood of joking relationships between actors of various degrees of power, and the consequences of these, conservative, revolutionary, or improper for the organization. Jokes are analyzed in terms of the theory. Humor analysis can, in a complementary reasoning, be seen as a methodological tool that helps unmask organizational power relations. A number of reflections are drawn about humor in organizations subject to post-industrial change. Humor has no essence; it is inserted into the dynamics of social life and its contents and form reflect social relations, power distributions, and changes in both.

Key Words: joking • humor • power • interpersonal relations

Human Relations, Vol. 44, No. 1, 1-19 (1991)
DOI: 10.1177/001872679104400101
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