Good News for Readers of this Blog

If you're a New York City municipal worker, you can't get fired for using the Internet during work hours. At least that was the ruling of a judge who compared Internet use to reading the paper or making personal phone calls.

As far as I'm concerned, if employees are meeting the demands of their job, employers shouldn't bust them for taking a little goof off time. Some of us need our breaks in order to be truly effective. And good bosses recognize that threats of the whip are hardly the best way to create success.

Internet use at work is already a big concern for businesses and it'll only grow. My guess is that most companies will find that less restrictive Internet policies will keep their employees more productive than will zero-tolerance policies. After all, would you rather work for a company that is ok with you taking a few minutes to read Maverick Views, or one that has the authority to fire you for such a minor divergence?