CBS MarketWatch’s Frank Barnako makes an intriguing observation in his blog post exploring some

new research (PDF file) from the Pew Internet & American Life Project:

The share of online Americans who say the Internet has “greatly improved their ability to do their job” has grown to 35%. Just about the same percentage says the Net’s “greatly improved” their abilities to buy stuff and pursue hobbies and interests.
Maybe the Internet isn’t that big a contributor to efficiency and productivity. Maybe it is the big time sink that some people fear.

On the other hand, it could be that companies fearing the Internet is a big time sink are putting no effort into training employees or providing resources to help them figure out how to use the Internet as a productivity tool. How many training classes are offered in corporate America today that help employees figure out how to tap into knowledge communities to solve work-related problems? How many tutorials exist on intranets that help employees learn how to search the web most effectively? How many managers ever say, “Isn’t it likely you’ll find the answer to that question online?”

And, as I’ve noted so often before, I’d like to see any staistics that offer a correlation between the time employees spent watching the NCAA tournament and whether work was turned in late or shoddily produced. Nobody seems to have been able to make that connection yet.