ABSTRACT
The purpose of this theoretical chapter is to suggest a model of humor in the social sharing of emotion at the workplace. With this in view we first briefly review humor research with special reference to organization science. We then introduce the theory of social sharing of emotion (SSE), that is, the narrative framing of emotional work events in connection with the production of humor at the workplace. With the help of this theory we develop a model to clarify the process and the relevant antecedents and outcomes of humor in SSE at the workplace. We discuss in some detail the factors in our model in two phases of SSE. We contend that humor is a frequent product of SSE due to the specific social nature of the workplace. We conclude by suggesting future research directions pertaining to our model.
