With long work hours and a new permissiveness, the sexes have never interacted more freely at work.

It was a warm summer morning. Homi Batliwalla, the deputy managing director of a top-ranking BT 500 engineering company, tapped twice before entering the CEO's room. He liked being called into the CEO's office, probably because he believed it would soon be his. A dramatic three-contender succession game was being played out in the company, but Batliwalla was the favourite. As he opened the door he winked at the CEO's secretary. She gave him a tight smile and murmured, ''I don't know what you've done, but he's in a lousy mood.''

The usually serene CEO was pacing up and down. He had just received a phone call from Batliwalla's distressed wife, confirming all the rumours about Batliwalla's workplace indiscretions. Until now the CEO had ignored the issue, but he now felt it was necessary to explain to Batliwalla that his ardour was unsettling the office.

When the CEO finished, Batliwalla was furious. ''How dare you interfere with my personal life?'' An argument ensued. The group chairman was called in. Batliwalla was moved out of the company.

Affairs at the workplace-pre- or post-marital-have not been unheard of. But a generation ago, it was something to be kept hidden. Like most others, the Indian exec was a part of a conservative middle class. But then came the 1990s, the coming out party of middle-class corporate India. It marked the birth of the yuppie, the six-figure starting salary, power dressing, and a new ethos that said it was okay to work hard, party harder-and damn the consequences. As this younger, affluent, and open-minded generation takes over, there's clearly a rise in the libido of corporate India. Every hr manager that BT spoke to confirmed that dealing with the fallout of sex in the workplace is an ever-increasing problem. New work practices-longer hours, close teams of employees-only exacerbate the chances of such liasions. It happens with footloose singletons, it happens equally with married execs.

FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT Work, Women, And The Single Life

Amit Malhotra, 29, IIM Bangalore, product manager, Mumbai This is the age of choice: In jobs, entertainment, clothes, food and partners I have been working for the past seven years. I live alone and work five days a week, generally keeping good hours-9.30 to 6.30. Only if it is necessary do I sit late or work weekends. These days most people are making sure they keep a good balance between work and life. I have a very hectic social life-partying, pubbing, discos, pool, and movies-something is always happening. I have a close set of friends who I hang out with. I spend a lot, mostly on going out. I am also very brand conscious when it comes to clothes. I have had three relationships in the past two years. So far none have been at the workplace. In fact, I avoid it because as a professional I am not very comfortable with it. Besides, not all organisations here have evolved enough to deal with such situations. Also, unlike the banking and other services sectors, I am in a marketing set up with very few women. There have been many changes in our generation. The first change: 'going out'. 'Outings' that were once infrequent, and, therefore, probably more special, are now becoming more of a habit. The second change is 'choice'. This has insinuated itself into all aspects of everyday life-what to eat, wear, do, even whom to meet. With a large part of the working class now specifically trained to make educated decisions (courtesy business schools etc) it's an easy slide to extend this to most aspects of one's life. The third change comes from more liberal employment polices. This means you end up meeting people at or through work and you have much more in common with each other. This is a far cry from a few years ago when not having a girlfriend by the time you passed out of college was as close to committing emotional seppukku (Japanese ritual suicide) as possible.

''There is a lifestyle change happening," affirms Sunil Kishore, hr head at Coca-Cola India. "Young people and their attitude to life before marriage and married people and their outlook to relationships after marriage are more liberal.'' That's evident, he says, in the easy way the sexes interact during work. ''Nobody is bothered what the next person is up to," says Sunjae Sharma, f&b Manager at the discotheque Cyclone at The Leela in Mumbai. He often sees young execs coming in together after work, holding hands, smooching. ''Acceptance has increased tremendously.''

Annirudh Misra, 28, and a Vice President at an FII in Mumbai, showcases the modern exec's attitudes. Misra is dating a colleague-in the hr department. He earns well, spends well, and in the confident manner of his peers, declares, ''I do not think having a physical relationship with women before marriage is a big deal. I am foot-loose and fancy-free and I'll remain this way for a while.''

A blind eye to messy realities

In some companies, senior managers go into a flap when talking about sexual issues. Some companies use headhunters to find out about the sexual behaviour of their execs-in one case, even sexual preference. Not knowing how to deal with increasing complaints from colleagues sick of watching another colleague get preferential treatment because of an affair with a senior is common enough. HR heads-in the absence of professional help-spoke of counselling couples having affairs at the workplace. One CEO talked of wives calling him about husbands having affairs.

Yet, there is a startling reluctance to address the new sexual realities. BT uncovered a string of high-profile dalliances, many of them playing out messily in companies clearly unprepared for such issues. Immersed in a conservative ethos, very few hr managers-we spoke to 20 across a cross-section of companies-would talk to BT, much less be quoted.

On the one hand, companies want to maintain an employee's right to privacy in their personal life. On the other hand, with personal life increasingly interfering with professional life, they have no option but to step in. ''In the past seven years, there has been a rise in the number of people from the corporate world with relationship problems," says organisational psychologist Dr Achal Bhagat of Delhi's Apollo Hospitals. He runs a helpline for an MNC. ''I see things becoming more Ally McBealish,'' muses Bhagat, referring to the television serial of a young lawyer and her proclivity to mix her personal and professional life.

Like Vinay Kapoor, a senior executive with Coca-Cola India. He's a young bachelor who earned great money, and lived the good life. Home was a room in a five-star hotel. He was caught in a media blitz because of his affair with Natasha Singh, the daughter-in-law of former foreign secretary K. Natwar Singh. That in itself wasn't the problem. Coke's name was unwittingly dragged into the drama that played itself out across Delhi's newspapers, with Kapoor represented as the antagonist homebreaker. Kapoor, who was anyway slated for a posting in London, was quietly shipped out. But, according to sources close to him, only after a dressing down from the company.

The outcome of easy money, attitudes, and lifestyles is particularly evident in industries with a high ratio of young execs working odd hours and in close proximity. The hotel industry, financial services, and the call-centre industry are prime examples. BT came across stories of parents complaining to hr heads in call centres. At the GE call centre in Gurgaon, a senior and junior employee are at present having an affair. The problem is that it's upsetting members in the same team who fear special treatment for their colleague. They have complained to the manager and the ombudsman. But so far, there's been no action. GE refused to comment. ''The fact that they work long hours in close teams is a facilitator,'' reasons Bhagat. At Spectramind, the call centre set up by ex-Citibanker Raman Roy, managers discovered that employees-with an average age of 23-were getting intimate in dark corners. The company's solution: light up all the dark corners.

It is not as if companies are becoming moral guardians of their young broods. As many a hr head explains, their employees' libido is their own to manage, but when it mixes with work they have to react. Traditionally, sectors like advertising and media, which had more women in the workforce, were more prone to such situations. Y.V. Verma, head of hr at LG, declares, ''It happens wherever there are more women.'' Verma has had to counsel employees in such situations. He describes how a customer care executive in Cochin was having an online affair with a married man in the Delhi office. He told the couple the company did not object to what they did as long as they did not let it affect the work.

But it is in no way a trend confined to the young. ''The most common ones to succumb to such chemistry are people in the 35-45 age group,'' explains psychologist Dr Harish Shetty in Mumbai. Take the case of Sanjay Pandey, the CEO of a HR services firm in Delhi. He got into an affair at the age of 44. He is staying with the girlfriend and is getting a divorce. The girlfriend's ex-husband has been trying to "create trouble" through a hate-mail campaign. ''We work in a country where people do not spare you, where a small thing is blown out of proportion,'' complains Pandey.

The older they are, the messier It Is

Affairs involving senior execs tend to be messier simply because they tend to increase the chances of affecting the company's work. Greater too is the chance that a senior exec may find his traditional spouse out of sync with his corporate life. There's the CEO of a Rs 1,000-crore engineering company in Mumbai who is having an affair with a colleague, a senior marketing exec. Married for 15 years, his problems emerged as he moved up the corporate ladder. He felt his wife was a misfit at corporate gatherings. He started using the marketing executive as an escort instead. The relationship is now a full-blown affair. ''He thinks we do not know. But all can see the special treatment the lady is getting,'' says an employee. In another case, the CEO of a foreign television channel in India is having an affair with a woman, who, though not in the organisation, has become a power centre. No one dare organise an event and not invite her, as they know it will anger the boss," says a subordinate. ''We feel choked by the situation, but we have no choice but to play along.''

The implications of sexual liasons on careers can be disastrous. So how do companies handle increased libidos? In the case of harassment cases, it is usually a straight dismissal. But relationships of consent are a grey area. Take the case of headhunters when they are cross-checking people as part of their due diligence. ''We do not go into the details but we do make a mention if we come across such details," says Dr B.P. Agarwal, head of Accord Search. "After that, it is left to the hiring company.''

Some companies have active harassment policies in place. ''We have an employee handbook that lists out in detail conducts and misconducts, including those involving body language,'' says Manju Malkani, gm (Personnel) at HDFC. ''We believe counselling is the best way to handle such problems.''

But in the overall absence of policies, companies prefer to deal with a case only when it's unavoidable. A group-head of hr at one of India's largest conglomerates was found cohabiting with another senior executive in the company guesthouse. The company's board found that the two had been matching travel schedules and overstaying at hotels. Both were sacked. The message: have an affair but not on company time and resources.

Still, as Dhruv Prakash, Practice Leader (People Value Management), Hewitt Associates, explains, when both parties are willing, companies are wary of interfering. "An employee's personal life is personal," says Arun Sehgal, head of hr at Gillette. "But if company performance gets affected you have to react." Aadesh Goyal at Hughes Software believes "in certain cases if things don't happen by counselling, you need to make things happen."

Only a handful of companies are trying to sensitise managers to the new sexual realities. Advertising giant Hindustan Thompson Associates has begun to talk to its managers on how to counsel in sexual issues. Many question the credentials of a hr manager to act as counsellor though. One option is to follow the West and increasingly use third party-run helplines or agony aunt columns on the company intranet. Or companies could simply start hiring a creature called the organisational psychologist. Those are solutions. First, it would be good to recognise the problem.

(Some names in this article have been changed)

-with additional reporting by Shilpa Nayak

BT'S EXPERT PANEL: What They Would Do

Ignoring sexual matters in the workplace is standard operating procedure for most Indian companies. This despite the fact that such liaisons are increasingly common-and messy. BT put forward five real-life scenarios to a panel of three experts. Their reactions: I A senior manager is having an affair with his secretary. Increasingly, colleagues find that those who get on well with the secretary receive preferential treatment. This is causing a lot of resentment in the company. AADESH GOYAL, VP (HR), Hughes Software Systems MANJIT SINGH LAKHMANA, VP (HR), Bank Of America ARUN SEHGAL, Regional Dir. (HR), Gillette India Goyal: The people involved must be extra careful that their relationship does not affect the workplace.It would be better for one of them to ask for a change of group. A close friend can suggest this to them. Lakhmana: Speak to the executive's direct manager, seek his help to counsel them that this is vitiating the workplace environment. It must stop forthwith. Sehgal: Move one to a different function to avoid conflict of interest. That's a subtle message to the manager. II Two colleagues in different departments are having an affair. Both are travelling together very often. The same dates, the same hotels. The manager feels they are misusing company resources. Goyal: First, determine if the facts presented are correct. If yes, advise the senior manager to have a direct chat with both and advise them. Lakhmana: both the employees should be confronted, and told to stop it otherwise appropriate action should be launched against them. Sehgal: If the travel together is detrimental to business interests, counselling to be resorted to. III There is a young, successful executive in the marketing department with a reputation of being a lady's man. The problem: he is often on the phone or chatting with his girlfriends on the net. His manager feels he is setting a bad example for others. Goyal: Have a talk with him and help him understand how his behaviour is inappropriate not only for the company but him too. The trick in cases like this is to communicate with the person concerned rather than discuss the problem with others. Lakhmana: He might have overlooked the impact of his actions on his co-workers. This should be brought to his notice by his supervisor. Sehgal: This is a poor work-habit issue and needs correction through feedback and counselling. IV Two colleagues from the same department are having an affair. The woman in question is the team leader. She is unmarried; her subordinate is married. Members of the team have been heard complaining of favouritism and are demotivated. Goyal: Someone must talk to them and get them to understand the bigger picture, and one of them must move to another group. Lakhmana: Speak to the lady's direct manager and seek his intervention and ask him to counsel. Sehgal: We need to establish the facts, rather than go by hearsay. If established, use indirect means such as an intermediary to convey the message. V An AVP is two-timing two women in the company. The women don't know this, but others do. It is becoming a talking point. This could be a problem. Further, his suspecting wife, a friend of yours, has asked you to help. Goyal: I'll meet him outside the office for a private chat. Lakhmana: I will speak to the AVP and make him understand the mess that he is leading himself into and advise him to desist from such actions. Sehgal: This is a personal matter and the company should not get involved, unless it is affecting performance-in which case a subtle message needs to be conveyed to the executive.