Isn’t it still true that those who climb the ladder still put in the most hours?

For all the sleeping pods and gyms and table football, asks Chris Blackhurst, have things really changed?

Undoubtedly, a right-minded employer is concerned for the welfare of their employees. That doesn’t mean they look kindly on someone having a nap in a sleeping pod when they could be racking up billable time (AFP/Getty)

In the offices of a City firm of lawyers this week I saw a sign for “Sleeping Pods”.

It was on their third floor and as the lift doors opened, I could see pointers towards the “Medical Centre” and the “Sleeping Pods”.

Instantly, I was back at the law firm also in the Square Mile, which I joined after university. As articled clerks we would regularly toil through the night, proof-reading some interminable legal tract. We were allowed to order in pizzas and we could take taxis home. If we had something to go to, tough. We had to stay, no ifs and buts. We were given a pack of sharpened pencils and that was it, for hour after hour, we had to spot any incorrect spellings and grammatical errors in hundreds of pages of documents.