Purpose <p>Humor is crucial for stress management and team dynamics among medical professionals. While positive humor aids with stress coping, little is known about how humor styles evolve during residency or relate to burnout. This study examines the prevalence of four humor styles (affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating) among residents and correlation with burnout.</p> Methods <p>This study surveyed residents from eleven specialties at a single institution. In the first month of the academic year, residents completed surveys using the Short Work-related Humor Styles Questionnaire (Sw-HSQ) and Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT). Demographic data, specialty, and training level were collected. Descriptive analysis, Student’s t-test, and Pearson’s correlation were used to assess humor style prevalence, changes, and burnout associations.</p> Results <p>A total of 107 residents completed the survey. No significant differences in humor styles or burnout scores were found by training year, preliminary status, or prior career experience. There was no correlation between age and humor style (<i>p</i> = 0.24). Male residents had higher positive humor scores (<i>p</i> = 0.002). Female residents had higher burnout scores (<i>p</i> = 0.016). Residents with clinical training interruptions adopted more positive humor (<i>p</i> = 0.01). Overall, there was a significant correlation between greater positive humor style use and lower burnout scores (r = − 0.22, <i>p</i> = 0.026).</p> Conclusion <p>This study establishes a small but significant correlation between higher positive humor scores and lower burnout scores. Although these findings require validation in larger cohorts, preliminary findings offer insight into the protective effects of positive humor against burnout in general surgery training.</p>