The annual holiday office party is a stressful, uncomfortable and expensive ritual. But you'd better have a good excuse if you plan to skip it. These employer-sponsored affairs often come with an implied obligation to attend.
"You have to go; you have to look as if you're having a great time," says Lucy Kellaway, who has pondered the perils of the annual office gathering in her workplace column for the Financial Times. "I think it's really hard because you're in one frame of mind for work. Partying is a totally different thing. The two just don't mix...."
Kellaway shares some thoughts and advice with Renee Montagne.
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