I was waiting to see how this discussion pans out. The topic itself is interesting, and I believe armughal's posts turned it into a more relevant discussion. What non-muslims do in their social lives is no secret, so for this forum, the more appropriate twist will be, what do Muslims feel about the whole affairs-between-co-workers thing.
Ahmadjee, first of all, there is a lot of difference between flirting (many people do it in the garb of being friendly) and having sex. Not all flirtation ends up in sex, and your first post specifically talked about "office sex". So its more than flirting, its actually goes several steps ahead, from the flirtation stage. And so what I said in my initial post about sexual harassment issues should be clear to everyone. Sexual harassment, is a hot topic in USA and, probably, in other western countries too.
Anchal raised a good point, that when talking about women having sex, why are we conveniently ignoring that equal number of men, if not more, are also engaged in this activity. So if either of them is married, it raises important questions about marital fidelity.
Coming back to armughal's points, I believe he raises several interesting issues, although I will only like to expound upon some of them. I think, some of the responses provided by SaadiaB and Coconut also address the same issues and if any of you wish to get a more Islamically focused answer; I am sure you can do more research or discuss it in the Religion forum. As this is not posted in Religion forum, so I will restrict myself to only the social implications of this discussion.
Being married for many years and living in the west, probably gives me a slightly better perspective on this whole debate. Essentially, the discussion boils down to the matter of "trust". In our everyday lives, invariably we get attracted to opposite sex, which is natural. The sign of a mature and responsible adult is to keep such "sparks" under control, especially when you are married. Sexual virility is a poor excuse to behave as animals. Whether you meet someone in super-market, on a traffic signal or in an office environment, regardless of how much you are attracted to the other person, it helps to maintain a clear focus on your relationship with your spouse. If you don't do that everyday, and keep running after the next most beautiful thing, realistically, you can kiss your chances of a happy and satisfying marital life, good-bye.
Armughal also raises a valid point that working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with other people is potentially far more serious than meeting someone in a super-market, for example. And the implications are that women, almost always, will be far more susceptible to sexual harassment than men. His argument is why subject her to that. This is very true. Although, most western countries, I know USA does, are coming down very hard on this issue. In addition, if someone is already married or engaged, then other co-workers, in most cases, respect that and will not be making passes. Then again, each case is different, so we cannot generalize on that account. Whether a wife should work or not is an entirely personal issue for the couple to decide, and it depends on many factors, so I will not be spending a lot of time discussing this issue.
The last point by armughal is again very interesting. This is about allowing wives to go around on daily chores without a mehram. Again, for the best Islamic answer, I may not be the right person, but logistically speaking; I have seen it both ways, though due to completely different reasons. Initially, when my wife didn't had a driver's license, we always used to do all shopping together, even groceries. All the time, I was in the office, she would be at home. This puts a lot of pressure on the both partners, especially if the husband works long hours. Now that she does drive by herself, this frees up both of us to make the best use of our time. I don't have to worry about going out again to get grocery at 10 pm on a weekday, and she can utilize morning hours to take kids to their schools, bring them back, do the groceries, meet with her friends and generally have a more productive life without being entirely dependent on the husband for small chores. Trust me, once your kids are school going and your wife doesn't drive, you will have a tough time managing all the different activities.
While, on a personal note, I have no disagreement with armughal, as he or anyone have to make their own decisions on these issues, I do sincerely advise him or anyone else, to contemplate and discuss these matters before marriage, with your spouse, so both of you enter into the relationship with greater clarity of mind and expectations. This saves a lot of heartache and headache in latter lives, as some of these differences in basic ideology in social lives can result in terrible tragedies.
Have a nice day.
[This message has been edited by Faisal (edited June 17, 2002).]