It may sound counterintuitive, but it has been scientifically proven that listening to music at the work place can actually boost productivity and provide inspiration, in addition to blocking out unwanted noise. While listening to music on the job is really a matter of personal preference, those who can work or study to a good tune say it helps to motivate them and even increases focus.
In a bid to understand the relationship between music and work, researchers have conducted many studies to explain how music can enhance performance at the work place.
The Science of Music
Music creates a feeling of happiness by prompting the release of a “feel-good” neurotransmitter called dopamine, a study by Nature Neuroscience suggests. According to the study, the release of dopamine can relieve stress and increase energy levels, thus boosting your general mood. This process might aid in the ability to focus on work. Another report published in the journal of Neuroscience of Behaviour and Physiology showed that rock or classical music, can help certain individuals concentrate better and complete difficult tasks. In an interview with New Zealand’s national television broadcaster TVNZ, the organizational psychologist Elizabeth Howells says songs between 50 and 60 beets per minute can help improve focus.
Company Policies On Work and Music
According to a manager at a leading publishing house in Lagos Nigeria, who spoke on condition of anonymity, while any kind of music would be suitable for an official space, the volume must be low enough for the worker to hear when a superior calls and should not disturb others. For Fisayo Okun, who works at United Bank For Africa (UBA), not all tasks allow you use your earphones. When dealing with cash, she says listing to music through earphones can make her lose concentration. She however pointed that the company plays some low music in the background in the workplace, which to her has the same soothing effect as having her earplugs on.
Best Genre For The Work Place
Those on the music-stimulates-productivity bandwagon might agree that a good song can help the work day along, but there is still a lot of debate about which genre of music stimulates the most productivity. The best music to listen to while at work might depend on the work being done. What helps focus in an office environment might put a construction or factory worker to sleep. But the kind of music that enhances productivity is a really a matter of personal preference.
Some might think that a writer needs soft or slow music as a work aid, but in his autobiography, the famous horror novelist, Stephen King says he writes while listening to hard rock for motivation.
What’s Your Sound?
Music plays a very important role in African life, in our homes, at our parties, in our places of worship. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t play a role in the business environment as well. Since the tunes that get you all worked up are a matter of personal preference, Ventures Africa asks – what music helps you get things done on the job?
