Obviously, the need or desire to get out of lunch with coworkers rarely arises in the green pastures of in-house counsel life. But, if you have to get out of lunch or another interaction, do it tactfully. How to make annoying coworkers stop being annoying? Well that’s another story.
“How can I successfully get out of lunches with coworkers? When I say no, they try for another date. And another and another. How can I politely say, “I’m not interested in spending my one work-free hour in the day with coworkers?” I don’t like spending the money and I don’t like wasting the calories. I feel compelled to say yes when my boss asks, but I don’t want to! Having lunch with a boss, whether you like them or not, means you have to be “on.” I’d like to spend my lunches doing what I want. How can I say no without alienating my coworkers and boss?”
Read: How Can I Get Out of Lunch with Coworkers? at Inc.com