Most Say Bosses Are Like George from "It's a Wonderful Life"

Perhaps it's a good sign for the economy that Ebenezer Scrooge didn't make it in a top ten list of holiday movie characters reminiscent of bosses.  

A CareerBuilder survey asked employees which holiday movie character most reminds them of their boss; 15 choices were given, and Ebenezer Scrooge was not among the top ten answers given.

George Bailey from “It’s a Wonderful Life” received 19% of the votes, with CareerBuilder describing the character as “well-liked, always willing to help others”.

The nine other characters rounding out the top ten include: 

  • Rudolph from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (14%) – Can navigate successfully through tough situations; 
  • Willie, the main character from “Bad Santa” (10%) – Rough around the edges, but not a bad person deep down; 
  • Ralphie from “A Christmas Story” (8%) – Stays focused on one goal and thinks about nothing else; 
  • Kevin from “Home Alone” (8%) – Very resourceful and independent; 
  • Ralphie’s father from “A Christmas Story” (8%) – Old school, swears a lot when things don’t go as planned; 
  • The Grinch from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (7%) – Keeps a distance from others, but longs to be a part of the group; 
  • Clark Griswald from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (7%) – Likeable, but nothing seems to go right for him or her; 
  • Santa from “Miracle on 34th Street” (6%) – Jolly no matter the circumstance; and 
  • Buddy from “Elf” (5%) – Naive and easily awed. 

The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder among 4,721 U.S. workers (employed full-time, not self-employed, government and non-government) between August 16 and September 8, 2011.  

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