Listening to music while working? What effect does it have on us?

Who doesn't like music? Many people are not fans of music, the majority of the population needs some music every day, and the reasons can be various. But what happens if you listen to music at work? Can music increase our productivity?

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Music in every aspect of our lives

We often don't pay attention to it, but if we look around, we are surrounded by people who listen to music: when we enter shops we hear music, in the subway we see people with headphones, walking down the street we hear music coming from houses, etc.

Music is used for various reasons: if you happen to go to the gym or go for a run or a walk, you happen to be surrounded by people with headphones and perhaps you listen to music during training, ask yourself why, the majority will answer: for efficiency. In fact, music, if used during an activity, has as its main influence the increase in efficiency of the activity carried out; during a workout, people feel more stimulated and energetic, and this positively influences the result that the person obtains at the end of the workout.

Music in this case has the function of energizing, but in other contexts, it can have the opposite effect. If we think about the end of the working day, some people as soon as they get home put on their favorite playlist to relax or we see that in some restaurants we hear classical music, precisely to accompany dinner and to create an atmosphere of tranquility.

Some people use music for concentration, in fact, we see many students listening to music in the library while studying or some smart workers who play a certain playlist to help their concentration while working.

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Music to make ourselves better

Tia DeNora, a sociology professor, conducted a study on the influence of music and its functionality as the Technology of the Self. These technologies are tools that we use every day to analyze and improve ourselves and music is considered one of these tools.

In this study, some of the interviewees use music for efficiency, and concentration and as a tool that allows them to change not only their physical but also mental and emotional state; think about it, how many times do you listen to music to get into a certain mood? The most common example is listening to music while getting ready to go to a party.

As a result, we see how music has a strong influence on us and the activities we do; therefore, it is plausible that it increases our concentration and efficiency even at work. Here is an interesting article if you want to know more about the influences of music: https://www.tmh.org/healthy-living/blogs/healthy-living/how-music-affects-your-mind-mood-and-body 

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The influence of music while working

In recent times, the majority of experts suggest that listening to music at work can be positive on employees’ efficiency, as long as the right conditions are in place and certain parameters are respected.

There is a lot of research to prove this, one of the most famous is that carried out by Mindlab International, an important neuromarketing company, also reported by Adnkronos. According to this research, listening to music at work contributes to employee productivity and promotes a lively and positive work environment. Let's see together the advantages of music: it helps you have a better state of mind, it can reduce stress and eliminate negative feelings, so you will be more inclined to do work that doesn't excite you if you are listening to music.

Music can stimulate new ideas, if you need to be creative in the workplace, you can listen to music with low complexity, slow pace, and low volume; Music can stimulate your brain and can help you think outside the box, therefore it can especially help in creative works or brainstorming phases. Listening to fast-paced music at a moderately high volume can give you the right energy to solve problems that apparently seem very difficult. Furthermore, this can motivate you to perform your tasks with greater speed. 

So, in summary, music helps improve mood, which is important in the work environment and group work, but it also stimulates concentration; stimulates not only practical work in terms of productivity and speed, but also motivation in carrying out even the jobs we like least; furthermore, it stimulates new ideas and creativity, and finally, music makes us faster, especially because it gives us the impression of greater fluency especially in routine activities.

You can consult this article to find out more about the influence of music while working:

https://wearecloudworks.com/en/cloudmag/benefits-of-music-at-work/ 

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Possible negative aspects

Listening to music while we work would therefore seem to be a perfect condition for every circumstance and every employee, but obviously, there are also some negative aspects; not all people can concentrate some people may get distracted by music and start traveling with their mind, instead of concentrating on work.

Some employees may prefer a quiet working environment to stimulate concentration. Let's say this is the main aspect; other possible negative effects could be isolation, but it is not so much for music, but for the activity of listening to music, in fact while working one could be too immersed in one's musical world and would risk being excluded from the environment of Work.

Obviously not only music can affect the effectiveness of our work, but there are also many other factors such as the environment, so we recommend this article to find some tips about work efficiency: https://alphasolutions.pw/reinforce-efficiency-and-engagement-at-work/

Here are some tips

We have noticed that there are more positive aspects than negative, but how can this be applied in daily life? If you are an employee, you could propose the possibility of being able to wear headphones while working or to be able to play background music during meetings or teamwork.

If, however, you are an employer, you could consider creating special spaces for work and music, separating these rooms from the rest of the office, so as not to disturb those who instead need a quiet environment while working. Additionally, you could give your employees the freedom to bring headphones and listen to music at work and set up meeting rooms with speakers or music devices to play music in the background during meetings, to stimulate concentration and efficiency.

This is not enough to create excellent work environments, which is why we recommend this article: 

https://alphasolutions.pw/tips-to-boost-the-talent-of-your-staff/ 

Alpha Solutions

Alpha Solutions is a human resources agency that deals with managing every aspect of companies in the best possible way. The young and competent staff creates a bridge between the best freelancers and companies looking for services. If you have difficulty selecting the perfect staff for your company or simply want to consult other articles, you can consult the web page: https://alphasolutions.pw/ 

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