İş Yerinde Mizahın Çalışanların Prososyal Motivasyonu Üzerindeki Etkisinin İncelenmesi: Nitel Bir Araştırma

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 44 Sayı: 1, 102 - 130, 23.03.2026

Berkin Hanaylı

https://doi.org/10.17065/huniibf.1696707

https://izlik.org/JA73GD44TF

Öz

Bu çalışma, otelcilik sektöründe iş yerinde mizahın çalışanların prososyal motivasyonları üzerindeki etkisini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırma, nitel araştırma desenlerinden fenomenolojik yaklaşımla yürütülmüş ve İzmir’de çeşitli otellerde farklı pozisyonlarda görev yapan 20 çalışanla derinlemesine görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bulgular, iş yerinde mizahın çalışanlar arasında açık ve etkili iletişimi desteklediğini, stres ve gerginliği azalttığını, güven, empati, dayanışma ve yardımlaşmayı güçlendirdiğini göstermektedir. Özellikle katılımcı mizahın sıcak, samimi ve kapsayıcı bir iletişim ortamı oluşturarak gönüllü yardım davranışlarını teşvik ettiği belirlenmiştir. Kendini geliştirici mizahın ise çalışanların psikolojik dayanıklılığını artırdığı ve stresli durumlarda ekip içi uyumu desteklediği görülmüştür. Buna karşılık saldırgan ve kendini yıkıcı mizahın güveni zayıflattığı, iletişimde mesafe yarattığı, dışlanma duygusunu artırdığı ve prososyal davranışları olumsuz etkilediği tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca mizahın farklı departmanlar ve hiyerarşik kademeler arasındaki etkileşimi kolaylaştırdığı, sorun çözme süreçlerine katkı sunduğu ve yöneticilerin bilinçli mizah kullanımının iş birliği isteğini artırdığı ortaya konulmuştur. Sonuç olarak, iş yerinde mizahın bilinçli ve kapsayıcı kullanımı çalışan refahı, ekip performansı ve örgütsel iklim açısından önemli bir unsur olarak değerlendirilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Mizah , Prososyal Motivasyon , Otel İşletmeleri

An Examination of the Impact of Workplace Humor on Employees' Prosocial Motivation: A Qualitative Study

https://izlik.org/JA73GD44TF

Öz

This study aims to examine the effects of workplace humor on employees’ prosocial motivation in the hospitality sector. Adopting a phenomenological qualitative design, the study was conducted through in-depth interviews with 20 employees working in different positions at various hotels in İzmir. The findings show that workplace humor supports open and effective communication among employees, reduces stress and tension, and strengthens trust, empathy, solidarity, and helping behaviors. In particular, affiliative humor was found to encourage voluntary helping behaviors by creating a warm, sincere, and inclusive communication environment. Self-enhancing humor, on the other hand, was found to increase employees’ psychological resilience and support team cohesion in stressful situations. In contrast, aggressive and self-defeating humor were found to weaken trust, create distance in communication, increase feelings of exclusion, and negatively affect prosocial behaviors. In addition, humor was found to facilitate interaction across different departments and hierarchical levels, contribute to problem-solving processes, and increase willingness to cooperate when used consciously by managers. As a result, the conscious and inclusive use of workplace humor is considered an important factor in terms of employee well-being, team performance, and organizational climate.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Humor , Prosocial Motivation , Hotel Businesses

Kaynakça

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