Not All Claps and Cheers

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4.5   Does verbal irony have a place in the workplace?

Roger J. Kreuz

Introduction

After one’s family, the workplace stands at the center of most adults’ lives. We spend half our waking hours each day in the presence of others with whom we share a tangle of social relationships. Just as one cannot choose one’s family, most of us have no control over who our supervisors or our coworkers are. Nonetheless, we are expected to maintain harmonious relationships with others, even with those who may be competitors for advancement or resources. In other cases, we attempt to foster closer relationships with coworkers we happen to like. It is also the case that relationships between employees can change as their institutional roles change. The workplace, ...