An old, cruel joke claimed David Beckham wore headphones at all times so a voice could remind him to “breathe in, breathe out”. Some things that should come naturally don’t.

You might think that a code of conduct for adult professionals attending a work-related social event, reminding them to “be considerate and respectful to each other” and “refrain from any unacceptable conduct” (defined elsewhere in the code), falls into the same category of advice as Beckham’s breathing tips.

But apparently such things are now necessary, as codes of conduct issued by bodies such as the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) and the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA), among others, confirm. If attenders at social events were in any doubt about the wisdom of making “unwelcome sexual advances, whether verbal or physical”, or “sexist, racist, homophobic or other discriminatory jokes, slurs, insults or comments”, now they know. Just don’t.

The existence of these codes does not necessarily point to a profound moral awakening or new puritanism in the corporate world. It could simply be a case of legal advice: an insurance policy. In the same way, the words printed on a coffee cup declaring that the “contents may be hot” have no real educational value, but could help the business owner with a litigious scalded customer.

But what the codes........

© The Guardian