If you skip alcohol at the office holiday party, how unusual are you?

You know the moment. You reach the company holiday-party bar, everyone seems to be ordering wine, beer or a cocktail, and you ask for a seltzer. It is a tiny sentence, but it can feel like the room hears it. In a 2024 survey by The Harris Poll, 56% of U.S. employed adults said they were very likely to attend their or a company holiday party, and another 27% said they were somewhat likely. So the party is not imaginary pressure. A lot of workers expect to be in that room.

But the sharper question is not whether people go. It is whether skipping alcohol makes you the odd person at the bar. We will answer that at the end. First, it helps to separate three things that get mixed together in the moment: attendance, the employer's setup and what other workers actually prefer.

Why the seltzer feels louder than it is

A company party is not just a night out. It is a work setting with music, snacks and people who may also be in your next meeting. That is why a small choice can feel bigger than it would at a friend's house. You are not only deciding what to drink. You are deciding what to signal while managers, clients or newer colleagues may be nearby.

The employer side adds to that feeling. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported in December 2024 that 64% of companies were planning holiday celebrations that year. When drinks are part of the party, that does not make alcohol required, but it does make it visible. If the bar is built into the room, saying no can feel like stepping out of the script.

That gap is important. Many companies have parties. Many put a bar in the room. But neither fact answers what your coworkers want to drink, or what they think when you do not. The open bar is a setting, not a vote.

Attendance pressure is not the same for every age group

The Harris Poll also broke out holiday-party attendance by generation. Gen Z workers were much less likely than older groups to say they were very likely to attend. In the survey, 37% of Gen Z said they were very likely, compared with 57% of Millennials, 65% of Gen X and 62% of Boomers.

That matters because the room can feel more unified than it is. If you are newer to a company, younger than many coworkers or trying to make a good impression, you may read the first few drink orders as the rule for the night. But the survey's attendance numbers already show that people approach these parties differently before they even get to the bar.

There is another reason the moment can feel tense: holiday-party small talk is still professional communication. You may be making polite conversation with someone who approves budgets, writes reviews or knows the team you want to join. In that setting, a drink choice can feel like a test of whether you are fun, serious, social or difficult, even when no one has said that out loud. So back to the bar question: if you skip the drink, where do you actually stand?

So how unusual are you if you skip it?

The clearest no-alcohol number is 14%: that is the share of U.S. employed adults in The Harris Poll's 2024 survey who said they would rather alcohol not be served at all at their or a company's holiday party.

That is not the only group leaning away from the open-bar script. Another 23% said they would prefer alcohol to be limited or served in moderation. Those two answers are not identical to saying every one of those workers personally skips drinks. Some may drink a little. Some may not drink at all. Some may simply prefer a work event where alcohol is not the center of the room.

The age cut makes the answer sharper for younger professionals. Among Gen Z workers in the Harris survey, 42% would prefer alcohol to be served in moderation or not at all. So if you are holding a seltzer and wondering whether everyone else has silently agreed on the opposite choice, that is not what the survey found.

What this means for you

If you skip alcohol at the office holiday party, you do not need to over-explain it. A simple order is usually enough: "Seltzer with lime, please." If someone comments, keep the reply short: "I'm good with this tonight" or "Early morning tomorrow." Then ask a normal follow-up question about their holiday plans, travel or the food. The less you defend the choice, the less it becomes the topic.

If you are worried about looking antisocial, separate the drink from the behavior. Stay present. Make eye contact. Talk to a few people you do not usually see. Thank the organizer if you can. Leaving early is easier if you do one visible social thing first, such as greeting your manager, introducing yourself to someone from another team or congratulating a colleague on a recent win.