Web Surfing At Work Can Boost Productivity

An anonymous reader writes: The Wall Street Journal reports on a study into productivity and efficiency in the workplace, which found that people who are given a break to surf the web return to their work with 'lower levels of mental exhaustion, boredom and higher levels of engagement.' Researchers tested against two other groups; one continued working, and one was given a break that did not involve web browsing. They concluded that 'browsing the Internet serves an important restorative function,' while dealing with personal email was 'particularly distracting.' In the end, the researchers recommended that employers loosen restrictions on employee web access.