Holiday Office Parties Down This Year -- You May Be Off the Hook!

Holiday parties are usually a horrific ritual inflicted on employees who must attend. Thanks to belt tightening this year, reports Bloomberg Business Week, you might be off the hook.

The number of companies conducting holiday parties is down to 79 percent of those surveyed by executive search firm Amrop Battalia Winston. Incidentally, that's down 16 percent from the number held during 2002 through 2004.