A smile is worth a thousand words:
the role of internal communications
in nurturing an emotional culture
of joy at work
Michelle Anne Willemse
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam,
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and
Corporate
Communications:
An International
Journal
135
Received 23 February 2025
Revised 12 July 2025
29 September 2025
Accepted 30 September 2025
Linjuan Rita Men
College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida,
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Abstract
Purpose – This study focuses on the connection between internal communications and the emotional culture of
joy in the workplace. Addressing a research gap in the literature, it examines the roles and responsibilities of
internal communications professionals in fostering joy at work, effective internal communications strategies and
tactics in nurturing an emotional culture of joy, and the challenges in doing so.
Design/methodology/approach – The research employed a cross-sectional, qualitative approach, using
semi-structured interviews with two distinct samples: 10 internal communications professionals and 10
employees in non-communications roles, resulting in 20 interviews in total. The interviews were conducted
with participants from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and
Switzerland. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to guide the analysis, exploring
participants’ lived experiences and allowing the co-construction of meaning between the researcher and the
participants.
Findings – The results of the data analysis show that, although the concept of joy at work is somewhat
stigmatized, workplace joy is based on meaningful and fulfilling factors beyond simply having fun. The
insights from both interview samples support internal communicators as “emotion brokers” who play a
distinct role in shaping, transmitting and sustaining an organization’s emotional culture of joy. The insights
also demonstrate acceptance for investing greater resources into nurturing an emotional culture of joy at
work. This includes a shared responsibility between communicators and other organizational members in
utilizing a mix of strategies that require more innovative and engaging approaches to span the gaps left by
increasing instances of remote working and the prevailing under-resourcing of organizational
communications.
Research limitations/implications – The data collection was cross-sectional (each interview was conducted at
a single point in time), which prevents the observation of changes in workplace culture over time. Having
participants from various countries introduced potential cultural nuances into the data – possible discrepancies
in how people from different countries identify and assess the concepts of joy, happiness and well-being were
not considered. Many participants voiced strong opinions about management; however, no organizational
managers were interviewed, which limited insight into their perspectives. The sample selection utilized the
researcher’s professional network to identify potential participants. With the qualitative design and completion
of 20 semi-structured interviews, this approach favors depth over breadth and restricts statistical
generalizability.
Practical implications – The findings provide important theoretical and practical implications. First, the
findings theoretically extend emotional culture theory by specifying the communicative micro-processes
through which a positive affective climate is co-created, highlighting the overlooked role of internal
communicators as “emotion brokers.” Second, the study enriches the literature on strategic internal
communications, providing fresh empirical evidence that concrete strategies, tactics and channel mixes do
not simply mirror organizational culture; they actively shape it. Third, the findings endorse and extend the
ecological perspective on internal communications, showing how communicative practices interact with
leadership behavior, HR policies and physical artifacts to form a self-reinforcing system of joy at work.
Social implications – Increasing global attention is being given to societal happiness and well-being. Having a
job is not the only aspect that matters to employees, which requires a closer look at organizational culture and
what contributes toward a “positive” emotional culture in the workplace. For organizations, investing in a
culture of joy is not a “nice-to-have” but a lever for employee happiness, engagement, creativity and resilience.
Communicators can play a crucial role for organizations in embracing a diverse range of strategies that provide
employees with a sense of meaning, voice, connection, belonging, empowerment and opportunity.
Corporate Communications: An
International Journal
Vol. 31 No. 1, 2026
pp. 135-149
© Emerald Publishing Limited
e-ISSN: 1758-6046
p-ISSN: 1356-3289
DOI 10.1108/CCIJ-02-2025-0047
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Originality/value – This study advances our understanding of how internal communications influences an
emotional culture of joy at work. It shows that joy is neither a frivolous add-on nor the sole remit of HR or
leadership. Rather, joy emerges from an ecology of communicative practices – relational rituals, transparent
dialogue, motivating leader language, peer-driven creative channels and tangible space cues – that mutually
reinforce one another. At the center of this system sit internal communicators: boundary spanners who translate
strategic intent into everyday meaning, broker relationships across silos and legitimize employee well-being as a
strategic concern. Yet, the study also reveals four systemic headwinds – hybrid isolation, resource scarcity,
bureaucratic drag and managerial blind spots – that can erode joy if addressed piecemeal.
Keywords Internal communication, Emotional culture, Joy, Perceptions of communicators,
Employee engagement
Paper type Research article
Happiness and well-being are receiving increasing attention across various societal levels.
Terms such as “quiet quitting,” “loud quitting,” and “flourishing” are often discussed on social
media. Governments and authorities are tracking happiness indexes, national well-being and
� c et al., 2020). Organizations are turning their attention to happiness and
life satisfaction (Cori�
engagement metrics, understanding the importance of these factors for sustained performance
and innovation (Lali�c et al., 2020; Men and Bowen, 2017). Employee engagement and wellbeing are, however, not only vital for productivity and outputs, but also for enhancing a
company’s reputation (Dortok, 2006; Men and Bowen, 2017) – as brand ambassadors,
employees share their workplace experiences both internally and externally (Men, 2021).
During challenging times, optimism and positive emotions become essential for motivating
employees and driving performance (Men, 2020). As research shows, positive emotions in the
workplace lead to increased productivity, teamwork and resilience (Barsade and O’Neill,
2016; Hartmann et al., 2020).
Organizational culture plays a pivotal role in shaping employee attitudes and behaviors.
Cultural norms define what is encouraged, accepted or discouraged within a company
(Groysberg et al., 2018), and communication is a critical factor in the development of
organizational culture (Kang and Sung, 2017; Men and Bowen, 2017). Traditionally, the
literature on organizational culture has focused on the cognitive aspects, leaving the emotional
dimension underexplored (Barsade and O’Neill, 2014; Men and Bowen, 2017; Yip
et al., 2020).
The concept of joy as an emotional culture – characterized by happiness, fun, enthusiasm
and shared positivity – has gained momentum in management discourse, yet empirical
research on how organizations develop such cultures is limited (Barsade and O’Neill, 2014;
Hartmann et al., 2020; Yue et al., 2021). While leadership and human resources (HR) are often
positioned as key drivers of workplace culture, this study foregrounds the unique yet
underexamined role of internal communications professionals. As boundary-spanners and
meaning-makers, internal communicators possess a unique vantage point in shaping
emotional norms through their ability to connect employees, amplify voices and craft
narratives that reinforce shared values. However, the literature has largely overlooked how
these professionals contribute to nurturing a specific emotional culture of joy, often treating
their role as ancillary to that of leadership or HR. This study challenges that assumption by
investigating how internal communications professionals act as agents of cultural change,
while also acknowledging the broader ecosystem in which joy is co-created – an ecosystem
that includes leadership, HR and employees themselves.
Addressing these gaps, this study seeks to understand how internal communications
contributes to nurturing an emotional culture of joy at work – an area with both theoretical and
practical significance. Specifically, it seeks to understand (1) how communicators’ roles and
responsibilities relate to an emotional culture of joy at work, (2) what strategies and tactics
communications professionals can implement to foster an emotional culture of joy and (3) the
challenges for nurturing an emotional culture of joy at work.
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This study expands the concept of emotional culture beyond its cognitive and behavioral
Corporate
dimensions, emphasizing the communicative practices that shape shared emotional norms. Communications:
An International
Practically, it identifies strategies that can guide internal communications professionals and
Journal
organizational leaders in fostering a culture of joy – an imperative in a post-pandemic, hybridworking world where emotional disconnection can hinder engagement and performance.
Literature review
The cognitive and emotional aspects of organizational culture
Organizational culture is often described as the “social glue” that binds employees together,
guiding their behavior, values and assumptions (Yue et al., 2021; Prati et al., 2009).
Traditionally, culture has been conceptualized through a cognitive lens – a set of shared beliefs
and norms shaping thought and action. Yet, this focus on cognition has marginalized the
emotional dimensions of culture, which are expressed and sustained through non-verbal cues
like facial expressions, tone of voice and body language (Barsade and O’Neill, 2016).
Emotional culture refers to the shared affective norms and expectations that determine which
emotions are appropriate to express at work and which are not (Barsade and Knight, 2015).
Despite its acknowledged influence on organizational outcomes (Men and Bowen, 2017; Men
and Robinson, 2018), emotional culture has often been treated as secondary – a “soft” factor
compared to strategic or structural considerations.
This cognitive-emotional divide has been challenged by scholars who argue for a more
integrated understanding of how emotional culture shapes and is shaped by broader
organizational systems (Barsade and O’Neill, 2014; Yip et al., 2020). Yet, critical questions
remain: To what extent can emotional culture be intentionally shaped by organizational actors?
Can positive emotions such as joy be universally beneficial, or might they sometimes mask
deeper issues like disengagement or performative positivity (Ashkanasy and Dorris, 2017)?
These tensions highlight the need for a more nuanced examination of emotional culture.
137
Internal communications and an organization’s culture
There is a reciprocal relationship between organizational culture and internal communications,
i.e. both influence each other (Yue et al., 2021). While earlier studies around internal
communication and culture tended to focus on how organizational culture influences the
practice of internal communications (e.g. Buffington in 1988 and Reber and Cameron in 2003)
(Yue et al., 2021), increasing attention is being given to how internal communications
influences organizational culture (Yue et al., 2021).
Communication within organizations is important for achieving and maintaining a work
� c et al., 2020; Ver�ci�c and
environment that is inspiring and engaging for employees (Cori�
Voki�c, 2017). Internal communication plays a significant role in shaping, reinforcing, and
changing culture (Men and Robinson, 2018). Concerned with “managing interdependence and
building mutually beneficial relationships between the organization and its employees” (Men
and Bowen, 2017, p. 12), internal communications practices influence the way employees
think and act (Men, 2021). Traditionally, the role of internal communications professionals has
been about informing – explaining company strategy to employees, or providing overviews
about company policies and news, to name but a couple of typical internal communications
responsibilities. However, this perspective is increasingly seen as limited. Communicators
today are recognized as listeners, facilitators, connectors, and meaning-makers – enabling
dialogue, amplifying employee voice, building relationships, fostering trust and nurturing
shared identity (Falkheimer et al., 2017; Men, 2021; Brockhaus et al., 2020). Internal
communication has even been described as “unlocking the secret of a positive emotional
culture” (Men and Yue, 2019, p. 1). Communicators’ contributions in connecting different
parts of an organization and shaping emotional norms effectively position them as “emotion
brokers.”
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Despite an expanded understanding, the boundaries between internal communications,
leadership communication and HR practices nonetheless remain largely blurred. This
conflation risks oversimplifying distinct roles and diffusing accountability (Ver�ci�c et al.,
2012). To advance both theory and practice, it is critical to disentangle these roles and explore
how internal communications professionals themselves perceive their contribution to shaping
emotional culture within organizations.
Emotional culture and the culture of joy
The way or extent to which emotions are expressed can be attributed to emotional culture, i.e.
the “behavioral norms, artifacts and underlying values and assumptions reflecting the actual
expression or suppression of the discrete emotions comprising the culture and the degree of
perceived appropriateness of these emotions, transmitted through feeling and normative
mechanisms within a group” (Barsade and Knight, 2015, p. 24).
The literature increasingly explores positive emotional cultures – such as those
characterized by joy, pride, gratitude and companionate love – as drivers of employee
engagement, performance and resilience (Barsade and O’Neill, 2014; Hartmann et al., 2020).
Yet, the focus on joy remains surprisingly limited, despite its documented potential to enhance
team dynamics, creativity and well-being (Fredrickson, 2013; Yue et al., 2021).
Johnson (2019, p. 2) describes joy as a pleasant state “in which one experiences feelings of
freedom, safety and ease,” as well as changes in one’s visual perception, physical movements
and creativity. Other academics also relate the feeling of joy to pleasantness, happiness,
delight, excitement and enjoyment, for instance during moments of good fortune or when
experiencing a pleasant situation (Hartmann et al., 2020; Men and Robinson, 2018; Men and
Yue, 2019). Joy, often described as a contagious, high-energy emotion expressed through
smiles, laughter and humor (Johnson, 2019; Barsade and O’Neill, 2014), is frequently framed
as unambiguously positive. However, some scholars argue for a more critical lens: Could an
overemphasis on joy mask burnout, suppress dissent or create pressure for emotional
conformity (Ashkanasy and Dorris, 2017)? Is joy equally valued across cultures,
organizational types and employee roles, or does it reflect a Western-centric bias in
emotional norms (Yip et al., 2020)? These unresolved debates underscore the need to further
explore joy, especially from a cultural perspective.
When individual feelings of joy converge (through, for instance, emotional contagion,
empathy, shared affective experiences or norm compliance – things which communicators
directly influence through their boundary-spanning role), a shared emotional culture of joy
will result (Hartmann et al., 2020; Men and Bowen, 2017). Building on Barsade and Knight’s
(2015, p. 24) basis definition of emotional culture, the emotional culture of joy can be defined
as the “behavioral norms, artifacts and underlying values and assumptions reflecting the actual
expression or suppression of” joyful emotions “and the degree of perceived appropriateness of
these emotions, transmitted through feeling and normative mechanisms within a group.”
Essentially, it is the way and degree to which feelings of joy (like the ones listed above) are
expressed in a particular setting. Considering communicators’ often undervalued position as
“emotion brokers,” it is important that key organizational stakeholders, such as managers or
HR, understand what constitutes an emotional culture of joy in their organization, and how the
role of their communications professionals directly influences it.
Nurturing an emotional culture of joy
Fostering a particular emotional culture involves harnessing and building on (rather than
ignoring) what people already feel, modeling the desired emotions (taking advantage of the
contagious nature of emotions), and “deep acting” to coax people to feel a certain way until
they really do (building on humans’ tendency to conform to and reinforce group norms)
(Barsade and O’Neill, 2016). It takes time, and requires the commitment and support from
managers and supervisors in consistently practicing the methods that bring about change
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(Barsade and O’Neill, 2016; Hartmann et al., 2020). Building on previous studies, there is a
Corporate
need to increase the understanding of what tangible actions can be taken to cultivate an Communications:
An International
emotional culture of joy – from the perspective of not only employees, but of organizational
Journal
leaders and communications managers (Men and Robinson, 2018).
The existing research about organizational emotional culture indicates that effective
internal communication is instrumental in nurturing positive emotional culture. For instance,
in 2019, Men and Yue tested the effect of corporate-level symmetrical and leadership-level
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responsive communications on the development of a positive emotional culture characterized
by joy, pride, gratitude and companionate love. The results indicated that both symmetrical
(two-way, dialogic, employee-centered communication) and responsive leadership
(responsive, caring, compassionate, warm and friendly leadership communication)
communications help cultivate a positive emotional culture, which also fosters
organizational citizenship behavior and employee advocacy (Men and Yue, 2019). In 2021,
Yue et al. further looked at how strategic internal communications can cultivate a positive
emotional culture (also identified as one characterized by joy, pride, gratitude and
companionate love), specifically examining leadership-level motivating language (ML) (the
employment of meaning-making, empathetic and direction-giving language) and
organization-level symmetrical internal communication (openness, reciprocity, negotiation
and tolerance for disagreement between an organization and its employees). The results
showed that both symmetrical internal communication and leaders’ use of ML induced
employees’ perceptions of a positive emotional culture, which in turn enhanced employees’
organizational identification (Yue et al., 2021). In addition to highlighting the importance of
two-way, employee-centered internal communications strategies that foster dialogue,
expression of positive emotions, listening, feedback, collaboration and participation, both
studies identify the significant influence that organizational leaders have on the kind of
emotional culture that develops (Men and Yue, 2019; Yue et al., 2021).
Consequently, communications professionals have a vital role to play. Internal
communications professionals are not only able to equip and support leaders in the ways
they communicate with employees, but are also pivotal in utilizing strategic methods to guide
an organization’s communications and foster a positive emotional culture that is aligned with
organizational vision and purpose (Men and Robinson, 2018; Men and Yue, 2019; Yue
et al., 2021).
The literature does not, however, go into detail about how exactly internal communications
can encourage a greater emotional culture of joy within organizations. While the boundaryspanning, meaning-making contributions of communicators heighten their influence in
shaping a particular emotional culture, the role of communicators is rarely disentangled from
that of leaders or HR. Does the responsibility for fostering joy fall primarily to communicators,
or is it a shared endeavor? Can communicators realistically be expected to champion joy in the
face of organizational constraints like resource limitations, hierarchical barriers or competing
priorities (Falkheimer et al., 2017)? These questions remain underexplored.
This study contributes to the literature by critically examining the specific strategies
internal communications professionals employ to foster an emotional culture of joy, the
challenges they face in doing so, and how their work intersects with that of other key
organizational actors. By bridging gaps in the literature, it offers a more nuanced
understanding of how communicative practices shape emotional experiences at work.
Method
The research employed a cross-sectional, qualitative approach, using semi-structured
interviews with two distinct samples: 10 internal communications professionals and 10
employees in non-communications roles, resulting in 20 interviews in total. Non-probability
sampling (snowball and self-selection) was used to recruit participants through the
researcher’s professional network. Care was taken to select participants of different age,
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gender, organizational size and years of experience, to avoid biases in participant selection.
While not actively sought out, this study included participants from various European
countries: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and
Switzerland. While the notions of joy, happiness and well-being may vary between different
countries’ cultures, the explorative nature of this research aimed at gathering participants’
inputs rather than trying to categorize their responses according to where they lived and
worked; a sample size of 20 participants also does not allow generalizations about cultural
nuances. Table 1 (see Appendix) summarizes participant demographics and organizational
details, including countries represented, company size and participant seniority levels.
This study gathered insights from internal communications professionals on their role in
fostering an emotional culture of joy. To provide a comprehensive understanding, employees –
who are the target audience of internal communications – were also interviewed, allowing for a
comparison between the perspectives of communicators and those receiving their messages.
Conducting interviews, rather than relying on surveys, enabled richer, more personal insights.
While this resulted in a smaller sample size, it also allowed for a deeper exploration of the
factors that influence the development and sustainability of joy in the workplace.
The interviews followed a semi-structured format, with questions adapted based on
participants’ responses (Appendix contains the interview questions used as a guide).
Interviews were conducted either in person or via video call, lasting between 45 and
70 minutes. All interviews were audio-recorded and later transcribed for analysis.
A constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2014) was employed to guide the
analysis, as it allows for a deep exploration of participants’ lived experiences and the coconstruction of meaning between researchers and participants. Transcriptions were completed
using Rev AI software and manually reviewed for accuracy. To ensure analytical rigor,
multiple readings of the transcripts were conducted to facilitate immersion in the data. Coding
was conducted using ATLAS.ti, beginning with open coding to identify initial concepts and
categories. While the interview questions provided a broad structure, emergent codes were
prioritized to capture unanticipated insights. Axial coding was then applied to refine and group
related codes into higher-order categories, establishing relationships between concepts (refer
to Table 2 in Appendix). Throughout the process, the constant comparative method (Glaser
and Strauss, 1967) was used to compare data segments within and across interviews,
identifying similarities, differences and patterns across the two samples.
Findings and discussion
The results of the data analysis show that, although the concept of joy at work is somewhat
stigmatized, workplace joy is based on meaningful and fulfilling factors beyond simply having
fun. The insights from both interview samples support internal communicators as “emotion
brokers” who play a distinct role in shaping, transmitting and sustaining an organization’s
emotional culture of joy. The insights also demonstrate acceptance for investing greater resources
into nurturing an emotional culture of joy at work. This includes a shared responsibility between
communicators and other organizational members in utilizing a mix of strategies that require
more innovative and engaging approaches to span the gaps left by increasing instances of remote
working and the prevailing under-resourcing of organizational communications.
RQ1. How Communicators’ Roles and Responsibilities Relate to Joy at Work
Boundary-spanning responsibilities. Although communicators are typically not immediately
associated with fostering or increasing joy at work as part of their usual responsibilities, most of
the interview participants from both samples made the connection that communicators can and
should play a role in this. All of sample 1 (the 10 communications professionals) thought that
communicators have a role to play in fostering more joy at work. Opinions varied on how
extensive this role is – it might not be a communicator’s primary responsibility, and this
responsibility may be shared with other departments or people across the organization, but it
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cannot be ignored that the scope of a communicator’s tasks includes many of the aspects
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identified by the interview participants as directly impacting joy at work (connecting employees Communications:
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to the company goals and purpose, fostering sense of belonging, encouraging communication
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and participation, facilitating dialogue with management, etc.). In various interviews, there was
the belief that communicators hold a unique position within organizations: being the only ones
that have connections to everyone else within the company (participant 1e), understand what is
going on across the company (participants 1d, 1f), can “pull all the strings together” (participant
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1j) and are “responsible for the horizontal integration of everybody” (participant 1d). This gives
them a feeling of duty to push for joy.
Attribution gap and role invisibility. Most of sample 2 (6 of the 10 employees) also thought
that communicators have a role to play in fostering more joy at work. The employees also
thought, however, that middle and upper management have perhaps an even bigger role to
play, and placed much more weight on this than the communications professionals (6/7
employees mentioned middle/upper management, respectively, compared to 2/1
communications professionals). This may be because communicators typically work
closely with management in messaging and campaign execution, and do not see the
influence of management as a completely separate entity from their own work. The employees
also might not realize that a good portion of what they hear from management is steered,
advised or crafted by the organization’s communicators. Interview data indicated that
employees are not always aware of the full scope of responsibilities of a communicator. When
talking about the typical things that communicators did, the interviewed communications
professionals associated their jobs with many varied yet interrelated roles and responsibilities
(including increasing people’s happiness/joy, connecting people and facilitating a sense of
belonging), whereas the interviewed employees tended to see communicators as mostly
spreaders/sharers of information. Therefore, employees may tend to default to management
for dealing with workplace issues, not realizing that communicators can also have a significant
influence over how workplace culture is shaped and lived.
These findings confirm the panoramic awareness argument in boundary-spanning theory:
Communicators, situated at network hubs, are uniquely positioned to broker emotional norms.
However, the emphasis that employees place on managers highlights an attribution gap – they do
not always recognize the contributions of communicators. The gap also points to an identity
tension for communicators: To legitimize joy at work, they must make their often-invisible labor
visible without reinforcing a top-down model of culture management. Organizational
identification theory suggests that when communicators succeed in linking joy to shared
purpose, employees internalize the norm and the invisible becomes powerful (Fredrickson, 2013).
Identity tension for internal communications professionals. Interview participants’ limited
awareness about the multifaceted nature of the communications profession reflects a general
lack of appreciation (in workplaces, and in society in general) for the far-reaching and
impactful work that communicators can achieve – including having a positive impact on joy at
work. Achieving joy at work does not, however, rest with only one person or department. In
addition to communicators and managers, interview participants also mentioned HR, Chief
Happiness Officers and employees in general as having responsibility.
RQ2. Strategies and Tactics to Foster an Emotional Culture of Joy
Respondents portrayed an emotional culture of joy as the emergent outcome of an
interconnected “ecology” of practices (Barsade and Knight, 2015). Specifically, five themes
emerged.
Relational infrastructure – igniting affect through shared experience. Across both samples,
talk of parties, off-sites and everyday social rituals dominated the transcripts (mentioned 53
times, more than any other tactic). Annual summer or year-end parties, family fun days, charity
fun-runs and even a lunchtime pop-up ice-cream truck were praised for stimulating interaction
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and signaling organizational largesse. Smaller, rhythmic encounters – weekly coffee circles,
birthday breakfasts, cross-team cake breaks and morning “mood checks” – kept relational
momentum alive between big events. Employees (sample 2) also highlighted immersive offsites: One described a week-long sense-of-belonging retreat as the moment colleagues finally
connected with each other on a deeper level (2j). Such collective highs exemplify the broadenand-build proposition that shared positive emotion expands cognitive scope and relational
resources (Fredrickson, 2013). Yet several participants cautioned that lavish events can feel
performative if workloads remain challenging, echoing critiques of “mandatory fun” that
induces cynicism rather than connection (Ashkanasy and Dorris, 2017).
Transparent, dialogic and employee-centered corporate communication. Both samples
frequently mentioned the value of regularly sharing information consistently and
empathetically, with some of the interviewed employees expressing frustration about how a
lack of internal communication at their company causes them to miss out on key pieces of
information. To avert the feeling of being uninformed, the interview participants mentioned
that it is helpful to receive information on new projects and teams (e.g. people stories) and
updates on strategic goals and progress, using channels like the company intranet, digital
newsletters or magazines, digital screens in the office, or recurring update sessions (e.g. town
halls and team meetings). The communications professionals were also aware of the need to
communicate in a manner that evoked the trust and respect of the employees in their
organization – rather than sugar-coating messages, hiding problems and negative outcomes,
being patronizing or communicating only when absolutely necessary, communicators should
regularly, openly and honestly engage with employees on an eye-to-eye level.
As identified in the literature, open, dialogic, employee-centered communication practices
help increase employees’ engagement and sense of connection to a company, which are
important for fostering joy at work (Men and Yue, 2019; Yue et al., 2021). In relation to this,
the interview participants also mentioned that greater employee involvement in project/
strategy ideation, planning and feedback facilitates joy at work. This could include
establishing an idea submission box, setting up focus groups and having more direct
engagement with staff. The interview participants also brought up methods to build a greater
employee connection to organizational purpose, goals, values and strategies, which included
strategic roadmap workshops, sessions on purpose and the development of slogans/sayings to
communicate the company values to employees. Taken together, these insights provide
empirical support for positioning transparent, symmetrical, dialogic internal communication
as a catalyst for a positive emotional culture – and show concretely how such communication
can nurture a sustainable climate of joy at work.
Motivating leadership language – leaders providing meaning, empathy and direction.
Leadership communication was frequently mentioned by the interview participants as being
important for fostering more joy at work, aligning with the findings that suggest that middle
and upper management play a significant role in workplace joy. The employees placed greater
emphasis on relations with team leaders or middle management, and the communications
professionals emphasized upper management or executive communications. This is largely
unsurprising, given that employees are naturally in closer contact with their team leaders than
with upper management, and that – as previously identified in the findings – a significant part
of a communicator’s job can entail crafting a company executive’s communications.
Across levels, respondents converged on three speech acts that map directly onto Motivating
Language Theory (MLT): meaning-making, empathetic and direction-giving language
(Mayfield and Mayfield, 2020). Employees valued supervisors who linked mundane tasks to
a bigger “why,” listened to personal concerns and offered clear next steps, confirming that MLT
fosters employee identification with the organization (Yue et al., 2021). Upper-management
formats seen as the most joy-inducing were those that humanized executives: short selfie-style
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videos, monthly “coffee chats” and lively town halls featuring Q&A rather than slide decks.
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Such encounters reduce hierarchical distance and promote emotional contagion (Men, 2020). Communications:
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Overall, the findings affirm that leadership communication – when it blends meaning,
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empathy and direction – functions as a primary carrier of positive emotional culture. Yet, the
findings also expose a fragile balancing act: Motivational language must remain authentic and
backed by tangible managerial behaviors if it is to translate into sustained joy at work.
Employee-led social and creative channels – amplifying peer connection and self-expression.
Employees repeatedly pointed to everyday digital spaces – Slack and WhatsApp groups, Viva
Engage forums or peer-recognition apps – as well as hobby-based channels on the company
intranet as key sources of joy. These platforms let staff form micro-communities around what
matters to them, from DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) activism to fantasy-football
leagues, deepening lateral ties that formal top-down messages rarely reach. In the same spirit,
interviewees celebrated home-grown creative outlets: internal podcasts, pop-up theaters,
design contests, short-film challenges and even collaborative “company books.” Such
activities provide playful, low-stakes arenas for personal expression, satisfying the autonomy
and relatedness needs that widely underwrite positive affect at work (Ryan and Deci, 2000).
The pattern signals a risk in relying solely on traditional, broadcast-style communication
tactics. When unconventional, bottom-up formats are dismissed as “nice-to-haves,”
organizations forfeit a powerful, low-cost lever for strengthening relationships – the very
ingredient most scholars identify as central to workplace joy (Barsade and O’Neill, 2016). For
communicators negotiating budget or executive buy-in, these findings offer concrete
evidence: Social and creative peer channels are not fringe perks but core infrastructure for an
emotionally healthy culture.
143
Perks and space cues – signaling that well-being is legitimate. Employees talked about
tangible perks and physical space significantly more often than communication professionals
(14 mentions versus 2). Their list was long: table-tennis sets, on-site gyms, nap pods, bright
lounge areas, family-photo walls, outdoor seating, massage or day-care services and learning
stipends for new skills or well-being classes. They also valued smaller “everyday treats” –
discounted streaming, retail coupons, free coffee – that remind people that the company cares.
There are two insights to be made here. First, perks carry strong symbolic power. Even
facilities that are “hardly used” still make the office feel inviting. This supports research on
emotional display rules: Attractive spaces and visible amenities quietly tell employees that
positive emotion is welcome (Barsade and O’Neill, 2016). Second, symbols lose force if daily
work contradicts them. Several participants said perks feel hollow when workloads stay
punishing. Others asked for deeper fixes – clearer priorities, lighter meeting calendars, even a
“Chief Happiness Officer.” These comments echo the Job-Demands–Resources model:
Adding resources (perks) without easing demands (over-scheduling, unclear goals) will not
sustain joy. Behavioral rules such as “no meetings after 5 p.m.” may help, but only if
employees trust leaders not to punish those who log off.
Taken together, the data portray joy cultivation as a multi-modal endeavor where
communicators are centrally located in pulling the strings together: Relationship-building
events ignite positive emotion; transparency, dialogue and employee-centered communication
sustain trust; leadership language builds purpose and conveys direction and empathy; and
material cues normalize well-being. Creating a culture of joy, in short, is not a standalone
initiative, but the result of mutually reinforcing communicative practices.
RQ3. Challenges in nurturing an emotional culture of joy
When it came to the reasons why more was not being done to nurture an emotional culture of
joy at their workplace, the interview participants brought up a variety of challenges that ranged
from an organizational level (e.g. company hierarchies, restructuring, office facilities) to an
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individual level (e.g. personal attitudes, perceptions, relationships with others). The four most
common challenges mentioned by the interview participants were: hybrid dilution of emotion,
resource scarcity and workload strain, burdensome hierarchies or internal politics, and
managerial blind spots.
Hybrid dilution of emotion. Many of the interview participants (9 communications
professionals and 8 employees) felt that less in-person presence posed a challenge in
achieving more joy at work. Following the global COVID pandemic that peaked between 2020
and 2022, remote and flexible working became more commonplace. In many cases, in-office
versus remote working arrangements are agreed at the team level, and while participants
thought that a mix between the two is good – showing a level of trust between management and
their employees – they felt that it becomes more difficult to foster any kind of culture when
people are working in isolation or hardly ever see their colleagues. Indeed, coming together and
forming a connection with others can be more difficult when contact is limited to scheduled
meetings. As established in the literature, non-verbal cues such as body language are important
for conveying emotional organizational culture (Barsade and O’Neill, 2016); removing a
portion of this over video or phone call thereby limits one of the ways in which people can
express and share joy with others. If the times that employees meet are limited to a handful of
regulated times a day (or even less) about work topics, there is little room for the chit-chatting or
personal expression that has been identified as important for experiencing joy at work. Forcing
employees to come into the office is not a straightforward solution, as this could negatively
impact some of the other important aspects for an emotional culture of joy, such as autonomy (a
self-determination theory need), trust and mutual understanding. Communicators, therefore,
need to embrace an enhanced mix of digital and in-person formats, where colleagues are
supported to forge meaningful connections virtually, but are also engaged in the right manner
that they feel it is worth their while to come in for certain in-person meetings or events.
Resource scarcity and workload strain. Insufficient time/resources and workload strain were also
common challenges for nurturing an emotional culture of joy. Numerous interview participants
from both samples felt that there was insufficient budget or personnel to complete their tasks within
the required timeframe or to the desired level. Some of the interviewed communications
professionals expressed that the internal communications department is in the unfortunate position
of being one of the first business areas to have its budget cut. This does not necessarily come as a
surprise – as a research field that only began to grow significantly in the 21st century, the internal
communications discipline/profession and its added business value are still not fully recognized
within the corporate world. Consequently, there were often limited resources to plan events, parties
or team-building activities that typically result in high levels of joy amongst employees.
With the traditional view that these kinds of “softer” approaches are extras beyond the
“real” business, a situation often results where the things that have a great impact on
employees’ joy – and thereby employee engagement, motivation and commitment – are
among the least-prioritized organizational strategies. There are many things that can still be
done on a limited budget, but as participant 2d expressed with the example of a start-up, fastchanging circumstances and rapid company growth teamed with a high focus on profit means
that management sometimes forgets about joy. Especially when resources are limited, joy at
work is not a high priority.
Hierarchy and “stupid politics”. Although bigger companies might have bigger budgets, the
interview participants also raised the point that larger companies usually have more reporting
lines, more levels of hierarchy, and a greater likelihood for competing priorities, which can
result in less clarity over responsibilities, less touchpoints to employees and, to some degree,
less freedom in deciding what kinds of activities are acceptable (e.g. having afternoon drinks at
work might be a relatively normal occurrence at a start-up, but might go against company
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policy in a large organization). Both interview samples felt that unnecessary hierarchical
Corporate
structures or “stupid politics” (e.g. where employees competed with each other rather than Communications:
An International
focusing on the best outcome, as mentioned by participant 2g) were obstructions to joy. This
Journal
aligns with procedural justice research that shows that opaque or slow processes erode trust
and positive affect (Colquitt, 2001).
Managerial blind spots. Finally, poor manager-employee relations or unsatisfactory
management style was also identified as a key challenge. Interview participants from both
samples gave examples of managers who were either hardly visible to employees – often
staying in their closed office, hardly signaling approachability – or were not very amicable.
Micro-managing, authoritative management style, rigidity in decision-making,
unresponsiveness, non-transparent sharing of information and insufficient time spent with
employees (particularly when it came to reviews or giving feedback) were identified by
interview participants as having a big impact on employees’ levels of joy at work. With
leadership communication considered a part of internal communication (Men, 2021), an
organization’s communicators have a role to play in advising and steering management toward
more open, authentic and empathetic leadership practices. This supports the previous work of
Men and Yue (2019) and Yue et al. (2021) in validating the importance of “responsive
leadership communication” and “leadership-level motivating language” for cultivating a
positive emotional culture amongst employees.
145
Conclusions
The role of a communicator is inextricably linked with organizational culture. In their
multifaceted capacity as listeners, connectors, enablers and motivators, an organization’s
communicators are key in developing cultural norms around how employees behave
(Falkheimer et al., 2017; Men, 2021). The importance of a happy, engaged workforce can no
longer be overlooked, with the topic having gained an increasingly strong foothold in modern
discourse for clear reasons: Positive emotional culture is a critical factor in employee behavior,
which has clear impacts on organizational productivity and business performance (Barsade
and O’Neill, 2014; Hartmann et al., 2020; Men and Robinson, 2018; Yue et al., 2021).
This study advances our understanding of how internal communications influences an
emotional culture of joy at work. By comparing the perspectives of communications
professionals and non-communications employees across nine European countries, it shows
that joy is neither a frivolous add-on nor the sole remit of HR or leadership. Rather, joy
emerges from an ecology of communicative practices – relational rituals, transparent dialogue,
motivating leader language, peer-driven creative channels and tangible space cues – that
mutually reinforce one another. At the center of this system sit internal communicators:
boundary spanners who translate strategic intent into everyday meaning, broker relationships
across silos and legitimize employee well-being as a strategic concern. Yet, the study also
reveals four systemic headwinds – hybrid isolation, resource scarcity, bureaucratic drag and
managerial blind spots – that can erode joy if addressed piecemeal.
The findings provide important theoretical and practical implications. First, the findings
theoretically extend emotional culture theory by specifying the communicative microprocesses through which a positive affective climate is co-created, highlighting the overlooked
role of internal communicators as “emotion brokers.” Second, the study enriches the literature
on strategic internal communications, providing fresh empirical evidence that concrete
strategies, tactics and channel mixes do not simply mirror organizational culture; they actively
shape it. Third, the findings endorse and extend the ecological perspective on internal
communications (Men and Bowen, 2017), showing how communicative practices interact
with leadership behavior, HR policies, and physical artifacts to form a self-reinforcing system
of joy at work.
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For organizations, the results underline that investing in a culture of joy is not a “nice-tohave” but a lever for employee happiness, engagement, creativity and resilience.
Organizations should embrace a diverse range of strategies that provide employees with a
sense of meaning, voice, connection, belonging, empowerment and opportunity.
Communication leaders should (1) audit hybrid touchpoints to engineer spontaneous microinteractions online and offline; (2) secure micro-budgets so teams can stage low-friction social
rituals without layers of approval; (3) partner with HR to train front-line managers in meaningmaking, empathetic and direction-giving language and (4) frame perks and space upgrades as
part of a coherent well-being narrative – backed by workload policies that signal authenticity.
When these elements align, a smile at work truly becomes “worth a thousand words.” While
fostering such a culture may take time, with commitment and dedication, internal
communications can cultivate an emotional culture of joy that benefits employees,
communicators and managers alike.
Despite its contributions, this study has several limitations. First, the data collection was
cross-sectional (each interview was conducted at a single point in time), which prevents the
observation of changes in workplace culture over time, such as after the implementation of
specific strategies. Second, having participants from various countries introduced potential
cultural nuances into the data – possible discrepancies in how people from different countries
identify and assess the concepts of joy, happiness and well-being were not considered. Third,
many participants voiced strong opinions about management; however, no organizational
managers were interviewed, which limited insight into their perspectives. Fourth, the sample
selection utilized the researcher’s professional network to identify potential participants.
Although this strategy generated rich, insider perspectives, it also narrowed the sampling
frame. As such, generalizations related to cross-cultural discrepancies could not be made, and
patterns across industries, organizational size, employee age ranges or years of experience
could not be drawn. Combined with the qualitative design and completion of 20 semistructured interviews, this approach favors depth over breadth and restricts statistical
generalizability.
Future research on the relationship between internal communications and positive
emotional culture should address these limitations. For instance, future studies should validate
the findings with larger, probability-based surveys across multiple sectors and regions. Crosscultural factors that could affect participants’ responses should be considered in greater detail.
Longitudinal studies, where data are collected before and after implementing strategies, could
offer valuable insights into the impact of such interventions on workplace culture. Case studies
could provide a deeper understanding of how specific strategies are planned, organized and
executed, revealing factors that contribute to their success or failure. Interviews with managers
could add valuable context to employee perspectives on management’s role in promoting an
emotional culture of joy at work. Additionally, looking further into the relationship between
internal communications and organizational emotional culture, it would be useful to
investigate other positive emotional cultures beyond joy, as these, too, have an impact on
employee happiness and well-being.
Supplementary material
The supplementary material for this article can be found online.
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Corresponding author
Michelle Anne Willemse can be contacted at: michelle.a.willemse@gmail.com
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