Supervisor’s positive humor and follower’s intrinsic motivation: roles of emotion and relationship quality

Purpose – The primary aim of this research is to examine the impact of leader humor on followers’ intrinsic motivation. The study addresses a gap in the existing literature by focusing on how leader humor affects intrinsic motivation within the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – This study utilized a survey of 346 employees from various business organizations. The research was guided by affective event theory and leader–member exchange theory to analyze how leader humor affects followers’ intrinsic motivation. Findings – The results show that followers’ positive emotion mediates the link between leader humor and intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, the effect of positive emotion on motivation is stronger when the quality of the leader–member relationship is high. Originality/value – This research introduces new insights by demonstrating the role of leader humor in boosting followers’ intrinsic motivation through positive emotions and quality leader–follower relationships, blending affective event and leader–member exchange theories.