That’s the conclusion of one recent Australian study, anyway.

More than 70% of employees with Internet access spend some amount of the day on non-work activities, according to the research by the University of Melbourne. And those who waste time in moderation (for less than 20% of their total time in the office) are on average 9% more productive than those who use their computers for nothing but work.

Why is that? Because employees function better when they take short, frequent breaks, say the researchers who conducted the study. They often lose concentration and need to zone out for a few minutes to get it back.

Another possible factor: The most productive employees are the ones who have the time to surf the Internet.