The techniques used in conflict management are diverse, and a considerable body of scientific literature is dedicated to the subject – humor occupies an essential place in it. In human communication, it performs several vital functions. For instance, humor is sometimes described as a “relationship lubricant” due to its ability to facilitate and regulate communication (Mao et al., 2017). To an extent, the value of humor can be explained by the fact that it helps to establish a more relaxed atmosphere, the quality sometimes needed at a workplace (Mao et al., 2017). Thus, humor might be vital for alleviating tension in the described scenario.
Given humor’s ability to mitigate tension, it could bring a temporary improvement and lighten the employees’ and students’ moods. It is possible that incorporating humor by merely seeing the experience as an occasion to laugh could be an appropriate approach. For instance, telling either a contextual joke or one not necessarily related to the situation could be helpful in the scenario by making the workspace somewhat more joyful and reducing stress. Additionally, humor could be used not only to alleviate tension between students and employees but also to avoid a conflict altogether. Nevertheless, it should be noted that despite its ability to alleviate a situation, it might be a temporary solution.
In conclusion, due to its well-known qualities, humor could be an effective strategy in conflict management. The participants of the described situation could benefit from incorporating it into their workplace activities and seeing their experience not only as distressing but also, potentially, ironic. The strategy could be instrumental in avoiding or assuaging an already existing conflict and decreasing the stress that employees and students experience due to the budget cuts.
Reference
Mao, J.-Y., Chiang, J. T.-J., Zhang, Y., & Gao, M. (2017). Humor as a relationship lubricant: The implications of leader humor on transformational leadership perceptions and team performance. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 24(4), 494–506. Web.