- 著者
- Akihito SHIMAZU Keiko SAKAKIBARA Fuad HAMSYAH Michiko KAWADA Daisuke MIYANAKA Naana MORI Masahito TOKITA
- 出版者
- National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
- 雑誌
- Industrial Health (ISSN:00198366)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- pp.2023-0085, (Released:2023-12-29)
Laughter is associated with better health and occurs most frequently during casual conversations. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has impaired social interactions, which may have reduced the frequency of laughter and led to poor well-being among workers. This study investigated the relationship between laughter frequency and work engagement among Japanese employees during the pandemic. We conducted a web-based survey among Japanese employees (20–59 years) via an internet survey company in December 2021; 1,058 valid data were analysed. Of the respondents, 65.1% laughed at least once a week, but the frequency was much lower than that reported in previous studies conducted before the pandemic. Additionally, those who laughed at least once a week had significantly higher work engagement scores than those who laughed less than once a month. Although employees reduced their frequency of laughter during the pandemic, a certain frequency of laughter may be important for maintaining their work engagement.