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Researchers have claimed that allowing employees to surf the internet at work could boost their productivity.

The results suggest that for those with jobs that don't involve sitting at a desk, a quick jaunt online can make them more productive. 

Workers who took the online breaks had a quick chance to unwind, but the researchers warned that if surfing was undisciplined it could result in 'cyberloafing' - those who spend too much time doing other things online when they should be working.

A study led by a researcher at the University of Cincinnati suggests taking short online breaks can boost productivity (stock image shown). However spending too much time online turns people into cyberloafers. This means they spend too much time doing other things online when they should be working

The study's lead author Dr Sung Doo Kim of the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati said: 'Employees reported benefits on going online to balance their work and personal responsibilities, such as checking on their children.'

'After reassuring themselves about their children, they were better able to focus on their work.'

Dr Kim added that people going online for industry news or research saw it as part of their professional development and improved satisfaction at work.

He suggested this was perhaps because of the freedom to be able to occasionally check in on their personal life.

The researchers added that they found three consequences to these breaks: 'momentary recovery, learning, and satisfaction.'

However, the potential benefits of the online breaks should come with a warning to bosses, according to the study.

Researchers suggested that if taken in an 'undisciplined manner,' these breaks could turn into cyberloafing, resulting in the excessive loss of time and productivity.

Dr Kim said that previous research has focused on breaks during off-job hours such as evening, weekend and vacation periods, or on traditional 'offline' breaks taken during working hours, such as lunch or coffee breaks.

However, the team decided to research online breaks during work hours and held extensive interviews with 33 professionals from a variety of industries and occupations about the practice.

The research shows that the tactic is most effective for people with active jobs. People taking online breaks with desk jobs were less productive, however (stock image shown)

The researchers examined several factors including triggers that prompt online work breaks, conditions that lead to taking an online break rather than an offline break, different online break activities and consequences of these actions.

The study discovered that workers engaged in online work breaks when they reported a high need for recovery, such as feeling tired from an intense work period, or recovering from a reported significant loss of physical or emotional energy.

Triggers also included breaking monotony or boredom, checking on demands at home and other personal demands, or emotional work-related events that triggered anger or frustration, according to the researchers.

The scientists said that workers whose jobs required extensive computer time or sitting at a desk for prolonged periods were less likely to find online breaks rejuvenating, compared to jobs that required a good deal of physical activity or a lot of face-to-face interaction, when employees relax with some 'alone time' online.

The research, which is to be presented to the Academy of Management in Philadelphia, found that the company policy affected employees' likelihood of taking these breaks.

Some of the employees reported that their workplace had strict policies on the personal use of workplace computers.

Dr Kim added that older workers who had spent years in the workplace previous to the birth of the Internet frowned on online breaks, stating that they were being 'paid to work.'