A Danish study has claimed that wasting time on the Internet might actually be beneficial to the work environment.
Scientists at the University of Copenhagen divided a selection of workers into two groups. Both were instructed to watch a video of people passing a ball back and forth, reports the Daily Mail.
Each group was then asked if they could remember how many times the ball had been passed.
One group was allowed to watch a funny clip online beforehand, while members of the other team had to go straight to work- while listening to the laughter of their peers in the other room.
The research found workers who had watched the funny clip made fewer mistakes when asked to focus on the task than the group that wasn't allowed to slack off for a few minutes.
The study isn't conclusive and critics suggest that the first group may have been distracted by the laughter of their colleagues.
The idea behind the study is that people have a finite amount of willpower when it comes to amusing distractions like the Internet.
The research concluded that if you ban workers from using the Internet freely then eventually they become less focused, motivated and effective.