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Q: I like to surf the Internet throughout my lunch break, which is 15 minutes long. Isn’t this OK? It is incidental to the job. I don’t have to do any work when I’m at lunch.

A: No, it is not OK to surf the Internet during your break because that would not be a minimal use. Using the Internet for a personal use (or talking on the phone for a personal reason or sending personal emails) for 15 minutes is too long to be a minimal amount of time. In this case, it doesn’t matter if the use would be incidental or non-disruptive, because it does not meet the minimal use test.

The general rule of thumb is that if you spend five minutes or more on a personal email, personal phone call or personal Internet use, you have used it too long. Your use may no longer pass the minimal use test.

Remember also that personal use can be minimal, but it would still be prohibited if it didn’t pass the other two tests: it must also be incidental to the job and non-disruptive. You may have just started a personal telephone call, but if a co-worker or customer needs something, or a call comes in, you must leave your personal call and take care of those matters immediately. If you do not, your use will not be incidental to the job and may also be disruptive. An employee whose personal use of the Internet, telephones, or email does not pass all three tests for acceptable use is subject to disciplinary action, including immediate termination from employment.

Q: I work on the phones. During the time in between calls, I like to email my friends back and forth. I don’t see what is wrong with this because I don’t have anything else to be doing and nobody can hear me, so it isn’t disruptive. Can I continue to use my email this way?

A: Emailing your friends throughout the day while waiting for phone calls to come in would not meet the minimal use test. This would be true if you surfed the Internet at these times or if you made personal calls at this time.