Sorry, I don't buy that argument because the costs are illusory. In reality, you can't possibly glue all of those blocks into chunks of hours unless you are going to micromanage employee schedules. And smart corporations recognize that you don't get results from micromanaging people. You set goals, manage by objectives and get out of the way. The other factor to consider is the high price tag of controlling e-mail and Web use over the long term.
Access is cheap, and control is expensive.
As employees get used to the medium and companies to managing by objectives, we'll find that if employees don't break the law and abuse company resources, management won't care. The Internet is ushering in new business styles and ways of operating. In the face of revolutionary forces, many managers are over-reacting and thinking of implementing Draconian Internet usage policies. This too shall pass, and we'll realize that it was just bit of history repeating. They will because lawyers have become the ultimate power brokers of the boardroom, and sexual harassment lawsuits their scariest bogeyman.