The question in the survey was "Do you use instant messaging to discuss fantasy football while at work?" Yes/No

Responses would include Yahoo, AIM, MSN, and Google Talk, as well as corporate-provided Microsoft LCS, Jabber XCP, or Lotus Sametime. The point of the survey was to identify non-business topics being discussed during business hours over business-provided PC's and networks (even if the IM network itself is free).

Like email, the WWW, and the telephone, there are benefits to using IM in the workplace, and there are risks (security problems, compliance liabilities, inappropriate use and hostile work environment liabilities, and yes, productivity-wasting personal use). And, just as with email, it's up to companies to create, communicate, and enforce policy to mitigate those risks. Over 80% of U.S. companies have put email security and policy enforcement products in place, but only about 15 to 20% have done the same for instant messaging so far. The gap is unexplainable, especially in light of survey results like this that show that corporations need to apply the same level of "control" over IM that they do over email, telephone, and WWW use.