Depletion or fulfillment? The double-edged sword effect of leader humor on leader interpersonal deviance

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1650

Abstract

Abstract: Leader humor, as a prevalent behavior in the modern workplace, refers to an intentional behavior enacted by a leader that is intended to be amusing to the subordinate. Despite its prevalence, leader humor does not necessarily mean positive interpersonal interactions. The same leader may shift from humorous expressions to interpersonally inappropriate responses within a short period of time, yet the reasons underlying such fluctuations remain unclear. To address this theoretical gap, integrating the conservation of resources theory and the self-determination theory, this study explores the effects of daily leader humor on daily leader interpersonal deviance via both daily leader state depletion and daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction. Additionally, we reveal the important moderating role of leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion.
We employed an experience sampling methodology to test the hypothesized model, including an initial one-time survey and daily surveys administered for ten consecutive working days. We collected data from a large-scale hotel chain in China, and the final sample included 1, 004 observations from 116 leaders. One week before the start of the daily surveys, participants reported their trait mindfulness, trait humor, emotional stability, and demographic information. Subsequently, the participants completed three surveys per day over ten consecutive working days. At Time 1 (sent at 8:00 a.m.; completed by 8:30 a.m.), participants reported their positive and negative affect as well as sleep quality from the previous night. At Time 2 (sent at 12:00 p.m.; completed by 12:30 p.m.), participants reported daily leader humor, daily leader state depletion, daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction, and daily leader role self-compassion. At Time 3 (sent at 5:00 p.m.; completed by 5:30 p.m.), participants reported daily leader interpersonal deviance.
Consistent with our predictions, the results demonstrated that daily leader humor was positively related to daily leader interpersonal deviance via daily leader state depletion. Meanwhile, daily leader humor was negatively related to daily leader interpersonal deviance through daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction. We also found that leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion moderated the indirect relationship between daily leader humor and daily leader interpersonal deviance via daily leader state depletion and daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction. More specifically, when leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion were low, the indirect relationship between daily leader humor and daily leader interpersonal deviance through daily leader state depletion was significant; however, when leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion were high, the indirect relationship via daily leader state depletion was not significant. Meanwhile, when leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion were high, the indirect relationship between daily leader humor and daily leader interpersonal deviance through daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction was significant; however, when leader trait mindfulness and daily leader role self-compassion were low, the indirect relationship via daily leader relatedness needs satisfaction was not significant.
Overall, our research makes important contributions to the existing literature. First, we extend the research on leader humor by taking an actor-centric perspective to demonstrate dynamic variation of leader humor and its impact on leaders themselves. Second, our research sheds light on the process by which leader humor affects leaders’ subsequent behaviors. We explain two key mechanisms linking leader humor to leader interpersonal deviance by investigating the mediating roles of leader state depletion and leader relatedness needs satisfaction. Third, our research allows for a better understanding of differentiated effects of leader humor by highlighting two moderators, including leader trait mindfulness as a stable individual difference and daily leader role self-compassion as a dynamic state.

Key words: leader humor, leader interpersonal deviance, conservation of resources theory, self-determination theory

YANG Fu, ZHAO Yiting, LIU Wenjun, YANG Ju. (2026). Depletion or fulfillment? The double-edged sword effect of leader humor on leader interpersonal deviance. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 58(8), 1650-1665.

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