I was just talking about this yesterday!
When I was hired, I told my then-boss that I was very active in my sorority and was planning to run for national office at some point in the near future. So, I would likely need to respond to e-mails and such during work hours. She said she was completely open to staff doing personal work at the desk if,
and only if, it didn't interfere with work. So, my e-mailing expanded to Greek Chat and other things. I'm one of the most productive people in the office and my current boss loves me, so she doesn't care at all what I do.
I guess it doesn't hurt that I'm also one of a handful of people in the office with administrator privileges on the network since I do some of the IT work.
I have no firewall and I have no remote viewer on my system. I could be planning a hostile takeover for all they know.