Business and enterprise software, and other applications that help a business run

Boy, is the boss going to hate this study! In work done by Ohio State University and the University of California, Internet Messaging (IM) has been found NOT be a plaything and a waster of employee time. Instead, the study determined that IM programs do quite the opposite, making communication smoother and boosting efficiency. This may be heresy to some, but the study has the numbers to prove its case.

According to the study, then, messaging programs like AIM, Windows Messenger, Jabber, and Adium can be used to increase employee productivity. As a bonus, text messages can be used to deal with simple and easy-to-resolve issues with little disruption of the normal routine.

The study found that people can flag their availability via IM programs or postpone answering incoming messages until a more suitable time and thus control how much their work is disrupted by co-workers. This practice is more socially acceptable then dumping an incoming phone call.

Please let your boss know that you are not wasting time, you're simply being more productive. :)