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From the Hospital to an Old Navy: Thanksgiving at Work

Haruka Sakaguchi for The New York Times

For many Americans, Thanksgiving is synonymous with domestic leisure — turkey roasting in the oven, football on TV, family gathered around the dining table.

But across the United States, millions of people spend at least part of the holiday at work — doctors, firefighters, police officers, reporters, waiters, cashiers, gas-station attendants, concession-stand operators, professional athletes.

The reasons people work on Thanksgiving are as varied as the jobs themselves: to make a little extra money, to satisfy the demands of an overbearing boss, to keep the community safe.