Does Humor Really Enhance Innovative Work Behavior? A Case Study of Thai Commercial Bank Employees

This study aimed to explore the relationship between humor styles and innovative work behavior of Thai commercial bank employees. Modified versions of Human Style Questionnaire (HSQ) and Innovative Work Behavior Scale (IWB) were used as the instruments for data collection. The validity and reliability of research instruments were evaluated and yielded the high scores for both instruments. Questionnaires were distributed to one hundred eighty-three employees of the documentary analysis unit of a selected commercial bank in Bangkok, Thailand. One hundred sixty-six questionnaires were returned with the completion, which showed a response rate of 90.7 %. The results of stepwise regression analysis indicated that self-enhancing humor style of Thai commercial bank employees explained 13% of variance (R² = .131, F (2, 166) = 24.73, p <.01). The finding found that self-enhancing humor style had a significantly positive effect on innovative work behavior (β= .362, p <.01). On the other hand, this present study found no significant differences between other humor styles and innovative work behavior. Limitations and recommendationsfor further studies were also discussed.