A naturally fluffy white beard, a round belly and a jolly laugh might seem like the keys to being a successful Santa Claus, but new research suggests that a calling to play the man with the bag full of toys is enough to help candidates overcome a lack of typical attributes for the role.
"There are pretty strong societal expectations around what Santa looks like, but we found that most anybody can be Santa if their heart desires it," said Oregon State University's Borbala Csillag, a co-author of a new study of professional Santas.
"When we looked at the people behind the suit, we found that the folks playing Santa are really more diverse than would be expected."
The findings, based on interviews and surveys of professional Santas in the United States, were recently published in the Academy of Management Journal. The study's lead author is Christina Hymer of the University of Tennessee and Bethany Cockburn of Northern Illinois University is a co-author of the paper.
Csillag and her colleagues were brainstorming themes they might research together in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic when Hymer, who had been watching a lot of holiday movies while home with her child, suggested there might be something to learn about how Santas narrated their work experiences.
After more than 50 interviews with Santas and nearly 850 responses to a Santa survey, the researchers discovered that professional Santas fall into three groups: prototypical Santas, who bear most of the physical and internal attributes one might associate with Santa; semi-prototypical Santas, who bear some but not all of the key attributes; and non-prototypical Santas, who may not bear much resemblance at all to the man in the red suit but have found ways to surmount the odds and become the man anyway.
Each group of Santas has shared experience based on how typically they fit the role. Prototypical Santas, who tend to be older white men with beards and round bellies, shared a strong sense of unity with the calling and live out their Santa identity year-round.
Semi-prototypical Santas find ways to resolve the dissonance between their attributes and the Santa role. A skinny Santa, for example, wove an explanation of his lack of belly into his Santa identity, claiming that Santa was getting healthy. A Santa who uses cochlear implants tells children it's a microphone to the head elf at the North Pole.
The non-prototypical Santas, such as a woman, an Orthodox Jew or a person of color, tend to strongly see themselves as Santaa on a year-round basis, still living out their feelings of being called to the Santa role despite their non-prototypical attributes.
Those interviewed told researchers they experienced rejection along their path. An African American Santa was told a store wasn't ready for a Santa of color, but he persisted. A physically disabled Santa reinterpreted characteristics of Santa to address his needs, such as using a motorized scooter to participate in a parade.
"These atypical Santas are trailblazers," said Csillag, the Stirek assistant professor of management in OSU's College of Business. "The expectations for playing the role may seem exclusive, but they are surmountable."
Csillag noted that the researchers only interviewed people who had successfully become Santa; there may still be people with the desire to become Santa who have not been able to achieve that goal.
The study's findings have broader implications for employers and potential employees as well, Csillag said.
For example, people who feel called to a role because of a personal, moral or social significance, such as teaching, nursing or faith-based jobs, may be able to succeed in that role even if they don't meet typical societal requirements, Csillag said.
"You don't have to possess the 'must-haves,' such as looking a certain way or having a certain trait, to live out your calling," she said. "Think about your attributes in a comprehensive way so you can identify the dimensions of the role that are well-fitting. You will likely find attributes that map to that calling, even if they are not obvious at first."
Another takeaway from the research is that leaders who govern membership in professional organizations have strong influence on role expectations, Csillag said. Such leaders can help make occupations to which people feel called more welcoming to diverse candidates by relaxing exclusionary expectations that don't ultimately limit success in the role.
"If we want to be open to a diverse set of people living out their calling, leaders might need to be a bit more flexible about what it means to fulfill the role," she said.
