Leader positive humor and employee creativity: The mediating role of work engagement

Leader humor plays an important role in organizations because it affects employees’ attitude and behavior. The positive effect of humor in organizations has been widely touted; however, research on the effect of leader humor on employee creativity is still rare. This study addressed how leader positive humor affects employee creativity and whether work engagement mediates this relationship. Data were collected from 233 supervisor–subordinate dyads in 23 Chinese high-tech companies. Results of structural equation modeling indicate that leader positive humor was positively related to work engagement, and that work engagement was positively related to employee creativity. Additionally, work engagement mediated the relationship between leader positive humor and employee creativity. Thus, organizations should encourage managers to use positive humor to enhance employees’ engagement at work, which will, in turn, lead to creative outcomes. This research extends understanding of the leader positive humor–employee creativity relationship.