Management Stripped Bare 235 types who have to fill in for family types. Eventually, the dead hand of bureaucracy will take over. Until then, smash the office clock and make sure it is not repaired. Work­life balance When was the last time you heard a work­life guru advocate that you work longer and harder? Work­life balance has become a euphemism for working less. As a result, it is a toxic discussion to start in any high-flying group: no one wants to be seen as the wimp that wants less work. But everyone struggles with this to some extent. Part of the problem is about expectations: the media push images of people with perfect bodies, perfect smiles and perfect lives. And then we turn away from the poster and find that life is not like that at all: we are faced with stroppy customers, unreasonable bosses, ambiguous work, the train is running late again and we have 55 e-mails in our inbox.