HR

I had thought that HR was the modish renaming of Personnel and dealt with Human Resources. I had not thought it meant Human Research. Hence, I was a little surprised to read this in a prominent HR journal. No link - I'm just anti-HR.

Are the sex lives of employees the concern of HR? Surprisingly, some experts think the answer is yes.

This may sound like the ultimate invasion of privacy. We already nag UK staff about quitting smoking and joining the workplace gym - surely they should be allowed to go home and enjoy themselves in peace?

Apparently not. There is a growing body of evidence that workplace stress affects sexual health, which in turn makes employees even more stressed and unproductive.

Under pressure

The problem is at its height in the US, where doctors report that a failure to switch off from work is putting pressure on patients' sexual relationships. One female patient asked her doctor if it was normal for her husband to put his Blackberry on the pillow while they made love.