So, employees should be allowed to surf the Web at work, but within reason, of course. Someone who spends most of the day perusing TMZ.com or ESPN.com is obviously going to have trouble getting their work done. In fact, the Singapore researchers say employers should allow time for "limited amount of personal Web use," implying that spending too much time on the Net for non-work-related reasons is not a good thing.

But over-aggressively using from spending too much time on the Net is not the solution, either, and is arguably unethical. Workplaces in the United States reserve the right to monitor Web use, but that does not necessarily mean that employers should routinely monitor users' Web surfing, either, even if it is legal. Especially in workplaces where professionals are paid for results, many employees will think that the amount of .

The best practice is to allow employees to surf the Web while making users aware of policy, and then give them the freedom to get their work done.

Bruce covers tech trends in the United States and Europe. He can be reached through his Website at .