Don’t try to make me laugh, let me do: persuading employees to action

As Computer-Mediated-Communication (CMC) gains prevalence in managerial practices, this study investigates the effect of managerial humor on employees’ perceptions of ability, motivation, and tendency to act. To date, the effect of humor on communication effectiveness remains unclear. Utilizing an experimental design with 923 participants, we compare humorous and non-humorous microcopy requests in CMC through a diff-in-diff regression analysis. Results show that non-humorous microcopy fosters higher motivation, action propensity, and perceived task execution ability compared to humorous microcopy. Perceived ability interacts with the other variables, yielding diverse contextual outcomes. This study reveals both the negative and positive effects of humor in CMC, providing insights for managers. The findings emphasize the importance of considering situational context and employees’ perceived task execution ability when choosing a persuasive approach in CMC requests, offering practical guidance for managers aiming to enhance communication with employees.