At a certain level, the best employees won’t work for an employer who doesn’t pay for their phone bill or provide a phone- especially if it’s needed for work. Sure, it’s a potential distraction- but you hire good people who do good work and trust them to manage their own distractions. Otherwise, you’re in a race to the bottom trying to fend off distractions for people who will find ways to distract themselves no matter what you do. 

 Actually the question was even deeper .. why would more effective ( and presumably) smarter people host a continuous source of distractions in their pant pockets :-) 

 

 Because it’s a double edged sword that can also be highly productive if used correctly