THE latest executive perk in the United States might take a while to catch on here, but then you never know. According to Business Week magazine, workplace backrubs are all the rage. One company charges an hourly bulk rate of $50 per office, with three "massage therapists" handling up to six clients an hour.

"Whose shoulders knot up the worst?" asks the mag. Those of the big shots, who "tend to have superstress syndrome", according to the masseuses.