Many research papers and surveys explore the idea of boosting employee productivity with music, and a vast majority of reported they had positive results regarding their staff and their bottom line.
A similar survey was done, which involved around 1,000 workers being exposed to music while working, and 85% of the employees who were allowed to listen to music while working admitted that they would rather listen to it than work and listen to nothing.
However, this begs the question: does music increase employee productivity, or is it just a placebo effect or a myth? The short answer to that is yes; it does affect employee productivity.
However, there is much more to it. Let us explore the effects music can have on productivity in a bit more detail, highlighting some of the aspects involved in music that contribute to this discovery and also discuss about how music can be used to increase productivity while at work.
The Relationship between Music and Productivity
Many experimental and research studies have observed that music is responsible for releasing the dopamine chemical in your brain when exploring the relationship between music and productivity.
Scientifically speaking, dopamine is known as the ‘reward chemical’ in our mind and is said to positively impact many functions of your body, including your memory, motivation, and attention, to name a few.
Therefore, listening to music has been scientifically proven to aid with memory, increase motivation, and it also allows you to de-stress as well.
Due to the effect music can have on our physical and mental health; it is considered a helpful tool that allows employees to improve at their job, said to improve their speed and accuracy while at work.
Many noteworthy medical professionals who specialize in music evaluation have reported exclaiming the positive impact it has on an employee’s productivity.
When talking about the subject of music boosting productivity, some consultants have said that music plays a great role in helping workers engage in their work tasks with increased concentration, being able to block out any distractions in the office.
Furthermore, many studies have also displayed signs showing that employees listening to music are more likely to produce more accurate work than when they are not.
What Aspects of Music Affect Productivity?
· Tempo
Many studies done by noteworthy professionals in the field, such as the Milliman study and the Roballey study, which were conducted in 1982 and 1985, explored the effect of background music on the behavior of supermarket shoppers.
Both of the aforementioned research studies came to similar conclusions, which stated that tempo was one of the leading factors which affected the shoppers’ behavior. The recorded observation stated that increasing the pace of the background music in the shopping mall led to the shoppers increasing their pace, enabling them to walk faster.
This can prove to be very helpful for shopping mart and store owners, allowing them to change the tempo of the music in accordance with what results they want. If the store owners think that the employees lack the motivation and pace to work fast, they can put background music with a fast tempo.
Similarly, they can also opt for music with a slow tempo to encourage customers to spend more time in their shop, increasing the likelihood of them investing in the products.
· Valence
Also known as affinity, this trait of music is defined as the mood it sets in terms of positivity that a track may convey to the listener. Music of high affinity tends to sound more positive, while tracks of low affinity give off negative energy.
A 1993 study exploring the musical effect preferences have on departmental store shoppers showed that putting on songs they liked resulted in them staying in the shop longer than usual.
Furthermore, another recorded observation stated that putting on music that was famous at the time reduced the shoppers’ cognitive abilities.
Due to this, when it comes to employees working in an office, the research found that exposing them to noteworthy music and billboard hits may negatively impact their cognitive abilities, resulting in less accurate results when on the job, and it is advised to play less familiar tracks, as they have proven to increase their mood.
· Lyrics
When considering the effect of boosting employee productivity with music, the presence of lyrics plays a significant role when talking about the impact music makes.
In a study done in the 1930s by an individual by the name of Muzak, a discovery was made that lyrics distracted the listener, and a tremendous amount of research regarding cognitive function, when exposed to music, has also pointed to this.
In the case of boosting employee productivity with music, it is highly recommended to play music on the loudspeakers that do not contain lyrics of any sort since their presence may be distracting for the employees.
· Listening Habits and Preferences
If an employee is used to listening to music when working, research has found that if they listen to their playlist, consisting of tracks they prefer, they can become more efficient.
However, if someone is used to silence, the presence of any kind of music can become a distraction, negatively impacting their productivity and overall work efficiency.
Due to this, keeping employee listening habits in mind is also essential when determining what kind of work environment a worker might need to perform at their best.
How Can Music Boost Employee Productivity?
1. Music Boosts Performance and Creativity Levels
Consensus has found that one of the leading causes of work stress is that employees start to suffer from boredom, which results in them taking a hit to their overall performance at work and reduces their work satisfaction levels.
Being affected by boredom at work can cause employees to lose their sense of pride in their work, hindering their ability to embrace their work and negatively impacting their productivity.
Music has proven to be a great deterrent to boredom. Listening to music has also been said to be a highly effective stress reliever capable of de-stressing employees. When incorporating a music-friendly work environment and exposing your employees to music, they will begin to enjoy their work, and the results will show in their tasks.
Furthermore, this will raise workplace morale, enabling employees to take more risks and step up to perform greater tasks at work, providing them with the ability to show initiative when required. They would start to become more efficient while working as well.
Furthermore, not only does music contribute to increasing employee productivity, but there have also been signs showing that music tends to increase creativity levels.
Putting on a random, shuffle playlist is a great way to boost employee creativity because random tracks bring unpredictability in an otherwise mundane, predictable work environment. Psychologically speaking, listening to a new track is said to awaken other senses, providing them with a fresh change of pace.
2. Music Impacts Concentration and Speed
Many different occupations exist out there, many of them having varying natures. Some of them require minimal attention to detail, but jobs also require your utmost concentration and focus on excelling.
Similarly, when you are dealing with work requiring instant responses and great intensity, workers are required to work at great speeds without making any sort of errors, as they may prove to be detrimental to the workflow and can result in possible financial loss.
When dealing with work that requires you to produce results at a fast pace with no room for error, many professional advisers recommend that you listen to classical music during work.
How it works is that classical music is said to be the most ambient out of all the different genres which exist out there, due to which listening to this sort of music is best for completing any sort of task which involve a significant amount of focus and attention to detail.
Conclusion
Music and work productivity have an intense relationship, which many professionals have explored for decades.
Due to the extensive research which has been done regarding this field of research, there is a multitude of evidence that points to the fact that the idea of music boosting productivity is not a far-fetched one and is a notion that indeed has the potential to work.
