Can Music Boost Office Productivity – Music is a universal language. As a matter of fact, recent science suggests that music may have even come before language – making it all the more understandable why music is so important to so many people. Music is a deeply affecting thing, and can have a wide variety of impacts on a given person – depending on how receptive they are to those effects.
The benefits of music are multifarious, and the boost it can give to you measurable; so it stands to reason that music can be a powerful tool when it comes to your productivity. Here are some of the ways in which music may be good for productivity.
Music and Motivation
Can Music Boost Office Productivity – Music is an excellent motivator – whether specific genres act as rallying cries to ‘get it done’, or something more subconscious is at play. Either way, judicious use of music to complement your workflow can increase your productivity fairly significantly; using slow songs to start off your day and ramp you up into a working mind-set, then listening to songs with a faster tempo and harder beat can drive you to work harder and faster – without the fatigue that would usually come with it.
Music and Repetition
Can Music Boost Office Productivity – There’s also evidence to suggest that listening to music can improve performance specifically when it comes to repetitive tasks. A good real-world example of this is in the construction industry, where the Milwaukee radio is a mainstay of many building sites. Listening to the radio helps alleviate boredom, enabling the builders to get on with relatively repetitive tasks like nailing plasterboard without flagging as easily.
Music and Mood
Can Music Boost Office Productivity – Music and mood are inseparable with regards to the human mind. We are deeply affected emotionally by music – even the simple juxtaposition of one note with another can create an emotional response, without lyrics or arrangement. This powerful phenomenon can be hugely useful for work purposes – whether bringing up your mood, or focusing your thoughts inward. It can also promote social relations with your colleagues, giving you a second-hand emotional boost through social bonding. A happier workplace is a more productive workplace, and music’s place in that equation should not be taken for granted.
Music and Creativity
Can Music Boost Office Productivity – Music can have more than an emotional effect on you, though; it can have an inspiring one. Music is already a creative endeavour, and listening can be also arguably be a creative act. Taking time from a task to listen to something new might give you a new angle to approach your work, or hearing a song with which you’re deeply familiar might open up your mind from creative block.
Conclusion
Can Music Boost Office Productivity – Music’s effect on productivity is at this point undeniable – and with the correct deployment, music can have a drastic effect on the quality of your work, and your mental state while working. In the long term, this can mean improved mental health for you and your colleagues, an outcome more important than any work target for you and for the health of your business.
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
