Employees feel they are being forced to have fun at Christmas parties arranged by their company, according to a behavioural psychologist.
Workers are worried they will suffer from being in an uncomfortable situation if they attend the annual event, the psychologist says.
According to research by the British Greyhound Racing Board, nearly half of staff hate having to be sociable with people they have nothing in common with.
Jo Hemmings, a behavioural psychologist, said workers are worried they will have too much to drink and say something they should not to somebody.
"Colleagues are put into a party atmosphere and forced to have fun which gives most people grief, being stuck with someone they do not want to be with," she added.
The research also showed 36 per cent of people find their work Christmas party boring and 28 per cent feel out of place at the event.
For women, the top celebrity guests for the festivities would be Russell Brand and Ricky Gervais and for men it would be Cheryl Cole and Jonathan Ross.
This article is very true. Many of us have nothing in common with our work colleagues and to have to sit through an entire Christmas dinner with them at the annual office Christmas party can be really hard work. At my office, we now do shared Christmas parties which are much better and we also hire Christmas party entertainment to get us all into the festive spirit.