We’ve all experienced that uncomfortable moment…when a workplace joke doesn’t land.
The silence is palpable, and the boss isn’t exactly thrilled.
Research indicates that this scenario is more prevalent among certain groups, particularly women.
A new study has shown that the type of humor favored by successful businesswomen frequently results in uncomfortable quiet.
While men often thrive on clever banter, it appears that women may inadvertently hinder their professional growth, as suggested by the findings.
This assertion comes from linguistics expert Dr. Judith Baxter, who conducted an 18-month investigation into the conversational dynamics between men and women in meetings across seven large companies.
Her examination of 600,000 words exchanged in 14 meetings, with seven led by men and seven by women, revealed significant disparities in humor usage between genders and how their jokes are perceived.
Dr. Baxter found that a large portion of male humor (80 percent) in business settings consists of spontaneous, light-hearted remarks or banter.
Research indicates that humor from women often does not resonate, similarly affecting both genders in the boardroom.
Due to the lack of favorable reception for women who employ humor, men are three times more prone to use jokes to ease the atmosphere in meetings they conduct.
Dr. Baxter stated: ‘My research has indicated that male managers employ humor to assert and showcase their leadership within a team.’
‘Their male colleagues may also engage in ‘display’ humor to gain favor with a male superior, as it indicates alignment with him. This behavior is intrinsic to leadership ‘tribe’ dynamics, which women find challenging to penetrate.’
