There will be no need for some US workers to visit a haunted house this Halloween: Nearly one in five (18%) already say their workplace is “scary,” according to? a national survey of 4,000 workers commissioned by CareeerBuilder and conducted by Harris Interactive.
The poll found that the largest percentage of workers (18%) say they need look no further than work for a fright because of the workload.
Other aspects of the job workers find most scary:
- Performance reviews – 9%
- Tight deadlines – 9%
- Hours worked – 8%
- Their boss – 7%
- Sitting through meetings – 6%
Scary Supervisors
Though only 7% of workers report that their boss is the most scary part of their job, responses about which pop-culture Halloween character best described the boss get mixed responses from benevolent to evil to downright bumbling.
The largest percentage of workers likened their bosses to a well-respected and helpful character. However, others called to mind movie monsters out for blood. The top answers:
- Glenda the Good Witch (from the Wizard of Oz), liked and respected by all – 20%
- The Wolf Man, who is fine one minute, howling the next – 11%
- The Invisible Man, never around – 10%
- Casper the Friendly Ghost, eager to help, but often misunderstood – 9%
- Dracula, constantly sucking the life right out of you – 6%
- Wicked Witch of the West (from the Wizard of Oz), always conniving and sending out minions to do his/her dirty work – 5%
- The Mummy, slow-moving with an ancient thought process – 4%
- Grim Reaper, constantly delivering bad news and inspiring fear among workers – 3%
- Frankenstein, green with envy – 1%
About the survey: The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive among 4,285 US workers (employed full-time; not self-employed; and non-government); ages 18+. Fielding took place between August 20 – September 9, 2009.
