Introduction
In the 21st century, life has become extremely stressful, which why stress management serves as an area of intense interest for contemporary researchers. The source of the issue lies in several aspects, such as the increasing pace of life, interpersonal relations, and competitive workplace environment. Accordingly, people search for means of alleviating the pressure through an array of approaches, such as counseling or mediation. At the same time, while other types of intervention have received wide recognition, the importance of humor in the discussed context is often disregarded, despite its evident positive effect. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of humor as one of the leading stress management strategies.
Alternative Means of Stress Management
Stress relief has become the subject of multiple studies in a variety of areas. The primary objective of contemporary researchers consists of two steps. First of all, it is necessary to identify the main sources of stress in today’s environment and classify them accordingly. Once the threats are determined, the next goal is to mitigate their negative effect. In other words, it does not suffice to know the sources of stress, as the crucial point of such research is to provide effective means of coping with the problem. Bansal (2018) refers to the workplace conditions as the main factor causing stress in modern society. It comes from the demanding nature of one’s position, as well as tasks, relationships with colleagues, and excessive workload (Bansal, 2018). In addition, Bansal (2018) states that a large portion of stress is caused by change, which can be extrapolated to all areas of human activity. Indeed, fear of the unknown entails, particularly stressful situations, which may have a detrimental effect on one’s mental condition, ultimately translating into physical health problems (Kalaivani & Rajkumar, 2017). Consequently, corporate studies have been paying increased attention to stress management techniques.
The range of proposed solutions to the issue of stress is broad and encompasses a variety of approaches. First, Bansal (2018) proposes structural changes, aiming directly at the source of the problem. The list includes such means as redesigning positions within an organization and establishing a clearer understanding of the role’s expectations on behalf of the management. In addition, Bansal (2018) mentions several techniques, which can be used at a personal level. People are encouraged to seek professional counseling, which may be expensive for some individuals. Next, relaxation techniques, such as meditation and breathing exercises, are referred to as effective interventions. Finally, Bansal (2018) suggests that support groups of family members and friends can help the person overcome the negative effect of stress. Overall, the proposed list does not directly mention humor as one of the possible solutions. Nevertheless, the importance of it cannot be disregarded in the modern environment.
Workplace-related Stress and Leader Humor
As mentioned earlier, competitiveness and difficulties of today’s corporate environment account for a considerable amount of stress, which an average person experiences on a daily basis. Challenging tasks and tense relationships with co-workers may create an unfavorable atmosphere within an organization. As a result, the stress accumulates, eventually leading to the workers’ health issues and the team’s poor performance. Therefore, the issue demands intervention from the management, and one of the effective approaches is directly related to humor. Cooper et al. (2018) argue that humor is an indispensable resource, which leaders are capable of utilizing in order to relieve the tension within their teams. The research suggests that humorous interaction initiated by the manager leads to the employees experiencing positive emotions, thus improving interpersonal relationships and promoting productivity (Cooper et al., 2018). Accordingly, it is possible to say that positive emotions are the direct opposite of stress, and their prevalence will be able to alleviate the discussed issue.
Humor in the Context of Change and Existential Anxiety
On the other hand, while the workplace environment is the leading source of stress in one’s life, the tension may also be caused by other factors. Bansal (2018) mentions the fear of change among the main issues causing stress, and this problem can be encountered throughout a person’s life. Generally, all changes are associated with a certain degree of anxiety, meaning that each individual experiences extreme stress if they realize they do not have control over their own future. In a particularly severe case, this issue may entail an existential crisis and anxiety related to it. This phenomenon usually occurs whenever a person faces major challenges or even life-threatening situations. The described condition was the focus of research conducted by Morgan et al. (2019). A practical study has revealed that humor is a highly promising instrument in terms of its stress relief capability, confirming its anxiety-buffering role. People, who participated in humor-induced interactions amid existential anxiety, demonstrated significant improvements, which proved that this approach is, indeed, beneficial (Morgan et al., 2019). Therefore, humor demonstrates the potential to relieve stress in severe conditions, such as existential crises.
Humor and Stress Caused by Global Issues
Sources of stress vary greatly, encompassing all areas and levels of human activity. While some of them exist on a personal level, which is caused by the interaction between people, there are those that reveal themselves globally. Evidently, many individuals tend to experience heavy stress due to the issues which concern the entire planet. The situation is aggravated by the fact that there is usually a sense of lack of control in this scenario, which is another factor contributing to anxiety. In the year 2020, the whole world was affected by Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, in addition to feeling anxiety in regard to friends’ and relatives’ lives, billions of people remained confined to their homes. As expected, the pandemic and the lockdown became additional stress factors, making the situation more difficult. Zahoor (2020) explored the use of humor, and Internet memes, in particular, in the context of pandemic-induced stress. The study showed that the linguistic humor related to the Covid-19 situation proved the essential role of humor as a coping technique amid global issues (Zahoor, 2020). Therefore, humor is an effective tension relief tool on all levels.
Summary and Conclusion
In conclusion, humor is a key instrument of stress management in the 21st century despite the fact that its importance is often neglected in favor of other interventions. Humor’s usefulness has been researched and confirmed in a variety of settings. First, it is effective in the workplace environment, especially when initiated and encouraged by the management. Second, humor helps people to cope with severe issues, such as an existential crisis. Finally, humor related to global issues over which one does not exercise control can help to mitigate the effect of said issues in terms of one’s mental condition. Overall, while the importance and effectiveness of humor are unquestionable, it is not necessary to resort to it as the only type of intervention. A combined approach, in which, however, humor plays a pivotal role, appears to be the best strategy for coping with stress.
References
Bansal, R. (2018). Stress management at workplace. International Journal of Techno-Management Research, 5(4), 29-32. Web.
Cooper, C. D., Kong D. T., & Crossley, C. D. (2018). Leader humor as an interpersonal resource: integrating three theoretical perspectives.Academy of Management Journal, 61(2). Web.
Kalavani, S., & Rajkumar, K. (2017). Laughter is the best medicine for stress relief.International Journal of Advances in Nursing Management, 5(3), 262–264. Web.
Morgan, J., Smith R., & Singh, A. (2019). Exploring the role of humor in the management of existential anxiety.Humor, 32(3). Web.
Zahoor, A. (2020). Linguistic humor in memes to mitigate post covid-19 severity.Linguistics and Literature Review, 6(2). Web.