Most knowledge workers use laptops and carry a BlackBerry or other PDA. Companies shell out the extra dough for these portable computers because they “increase productivity,” which is a euphemism for “get people working more often and from more places.”

Employees know that, and many don't much mind: if they can catch up on some work during a train trip or, like me right now, while sitting in the waiting room at a doctor's office, that's work they don't have to do later.

But that arrangement comes with a quid pro quo: companies reciprocate by granting employees some leeway at the office.

Which brings us to a survey released just before Christmas by Accountemps. From the press release: Managers concerned about a lull in productivity as employees flock to the Internet to buy holiday gifts can find comfort in a recent Accountemps survey: Nearly four out of five (79 per cent) professionals polled said they will not shop online while at work during the holiday season. However, those who will be searching for bargains on company time aren't doing so half-heartedly; these individuals anticipate spending nearly three hours each week checking items off their holiday shopping lists while on the clock.

This survey annoys me. It first reassures managers (“Don't worry, your employees aren't wasting too much time”) and then identifies really problem workers as those who spend three hours per week at e-tail sites.

A regular 9 to 5 work week is 35 hours (with one hour per day for lunch). But how many knowledge workers actually put in only 35 hours? How many put in at least 38, making up—every week—for the three hours Accountemps worries about just before Christmas?

The answer is all of them. No one works a 35 hour week.

The press release then continues with this: "The holidays place demands on people's time, making it tempting to browse for gifts online while at work," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies, 2nd edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). "But visiting shopping websites often is against company policy—employees should familiarize themselves with their firm's rules on acceptable Internet use during business hours and use good judgment in how they spend their time."

Absolutely people should know their company's rules, but what Accountemps fails to say is that those rules should explicitly state that work/life balance is important, that helping employees deal with holiday stress benefits everyone, and that moderate time spent shopping (up to and including three hours per week) is absolutely fine.     

It's only fair compensation for working on trains, on weekends and on vacations.

Peter Wolchak