my problem with that is this: while in theory what you're saying resonates, it sounds, in practice, like there are some people who just don't want to do the boring work, and would rather chat on AIM or update their livejournal.

there is always something that needs to be done, especially when you're working in an office. and yeah, filing and the like seem so boring and unneccessary as to be just busywork and unimportant shuffling of papers, but it's actually very crucial to the efficient running of the business. if the supervisor is inventing work to be done out of thin air, that's one thing, but that's rarely how it is -- even if it looks that way to junior staff or interns.