Mark Prendergast does not work for the German sociable,” he says.

Mr Couch, the manager, came up

design studio. The freelance English designer is
taking advantage of a free-desk scheme run by
London start-up Deskcamping. “My working process
tends to be a solitary one, so being surrounded by
others is a great way to make the whole process more
with the idea while running a creative agency. “We had
desk space that was free,” he says. “When it wasn’t
occupied there was an echoey atmosphere. Being able to
bring in someone with a completely different skill set
opens your mind to new ways of working.”

Portfolio careers, the rise of the home-worker, the spread of outsourcing, the dangers of an obsession with shareholder
value. Charles Handy was talking about these ideas two decades ago. At the time they sounded radical, now they are
commonplace. At 80, he ought to be content. Yet, from his armchair in front of the fire, overlooking the garden of his
flat in a prosperous part of Putney, southwest London, the management writer and self-described social philosopher
sounds gloomy. “I am seriously worried that the rather frenetic atmosphere in some organisations. . . . is really
damaging relationships at home,” he says.

A reader writes: A Catholic member of staff has just filed a complaint about a colleague telling offensive jokes in the office
– a few of which referred to the Pope. I think he is being overly sensitive to be honest and I don’t want to encourage a
culture of petty moaning. But on the other hand he does seem rather upset about it. What should we do?

The commercial argument for promoting more women to
senior positions might have been won, says Andi
Keeling. But does this mean women need to act like men
to get noticed by their organisations? While there is little
difference between gender and leadership potential,
research by SHL, the global recruitment and talent
assessment company, suggests men in leadership
positions are motivated by power and fear of failure,
whereas women are motivated by a constructive working
atmosphere and receiving recognition. SHL found a
persistent gender imbalance in the corporate world, with
only 20 per cent of women in the UK represented in
leadership roles, compared with 42 per cent in Norway
and 39 per cent in Thailand, based on the analysis or
more than 1m people in its database.

Young Indians living in their family homes – still the vast majority –have new opportunities to mingle with the opposite
sex in modern-style workplaces, while mobile phones and the internet help to bypass physical restrictions. Bars and
clubs provide a new infrastructure for romantic dramas. Vimochana is a Bangalore institution, dedicated to combating
violence against women and other women’s issues. Recently, a devastated company employee in her early twenties
approached Shakun for help. The girl had dated an older colleague from a different department. After a few weeks, they
went for an out-of-town holiday, now a common courtship ritual for young Indian professionals. On the trip, the couple
visited a Hindu temple and garlanded each other – a significant gesture, as garlanding is an integral part of Hindu
wedding ceremonies – and, afterwards, the two moved in together. Then the man visited his home state, to tell his
parents about the developments. He returned to Bangalore married to another girl, chosen by his parents from his own
caste. His previous partner was, says Shakun, “totally broken”. “These girls come to an atmosphere of total freedom,
after total repression, and they go wild,” Shakun says. “But they become so vulnerable to anyone who comes along. It’s
like a dream world. When the crisis hits, they don’t see it coming.”

As more women entered the workforce in the 1970s and 80s, employers introduced practices such as flexible working, job
sharing, and on-site childcare, or crèches. The goal was to help women manage the competing pressures of work and
home life, but they became a double-edged sword. Women who took advantage of these benefits often found themselves
labeled as being on the “mommy track” – a professional path, but one that provides fewer opportunities for advancement.
“None of that stuff worked,” says Claire Gruppo, chief executive of Gruppo, Levey & Co, a New York-based boutique
investment bank. “The message to women was – you can be successful, but not in the top job.” Whether that message has
changed is debatable.