12.12 Just kidding?! Using humor to cope with moral responsibility and facilitate behavioural change

Aim of the project

This project is about voice behavior – daring to openly speak up for example about ideas, opinions, concerns or moral violations at the workplace. Speaking up is important for signaling shared norms and values to others, challenging the status quo, and preventing misperceptions about others beliefs that could otherwise contribute to the formation of networks of silence. Speaking up can contribute to socially safe environments where people feel accepted, understood and supported. This in turn can encourage feelings of shared responsibility where others dare to speak up as well. For companies aiming to be flexible and adapt quickly and effectively to changes such as shifts in the political environment, technological advancements or changes in the workforce, it is especially important to openly discuss ideas and concerns with each-other. However, speaking up can be difficult as it is usually associated with perceived social risks, such as potential embarrassment, harm to one’s reputation or damaged interpersonal relationships. Therefore, in this project, we investigate under which conditions people take responsibility by speaking up. Besides, we will examine which strategies of speaking up are most effective in influencing how others perceive the speaker and in driving behavior change (e.g., the effect of humorous voice).