Maybe so. It depends on the business, as well as the management culture. If the business demands 100% attention 9–5 (or more) and is at risk of failing otherwise, or if management is gung-ho about “getting their money’s worth” out of programmers, then it can’t happen. Where I worked, it was understood this was an avenue to higher productivity, and it paid itself off many times, not the least of which was the contribution to higher retention.