Internet Use

I can’t stand when companies tell their employees that they can’t use the internet for anything that isn’t work related.  It seems to me that if I have down time – true down time where there is nothing for me to do and I have checked with everyone else I’m working with to see if they have anything I can do and they don’t – that I should be able to use the internet to check my own email, to see the news, or catch up on other online reading. 

 It doesn’t interfere with my job.  I’m not doing anything at that moment and as long as I stop the second anything to do comes up what harm is there?  The only other option seems to be to actually twiddle my thumbs at my desk.  This just makes for a very frustrated employee.