Half of UK employees listen to music at work according to a recent survey conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by UK Classical Music radio station, Scala Radio. The poll of 2000 employed Brits showed that more than a quarter of us use music to block out fellow employee’s noise, while in contrast a tenth listen to avoid silence if their colleagues aren’t in. With an estimated 32.75 million UK workers currently in employment (Office for National Statistics figures), millions of people across the country are slipping on headphones in the office in a bid to concentrate more or block out office noise.
The research also found that more than a third of those polled work harder and two in five get more done when listening to music. Almost half (47%) said they feel less stressed and more than a third said their productivity improves with background melodies. The study found that of those who listen to music at work, six in 10 are based in an office and 49% of respondents either always or sometimes work from home. More than two thirds of those who work from home would ‘struggle’ to concentrate without having music on, suggesting the sound fills the void of working alone.
A quarter of home-based workers listen to classical music and 37% admitted they find it easier to hear instrumental-only songs. One in four workers opt for R&B to soundtrack their day, while almost three in 10 choose rock.
A quarter of those polled said music is encouraged in their workplace and 24% feel it keeps them more alert and awake. Almost a third of employees have communal music played in their offices but 36% prefer to keep themselves to themselves with their personal selection.
The results coincide with an experiment where four office workers were given a 600 word task to complete to see how music affected their productivity compared to a silent room. It found that when music was played, the workers completed the task three minutes faster.
Commenting on the results, psychologist Dr Becky Spelman said: “Music has a really powerful impact on the brain, it affects mood and mental and physical performance. Many people find that listening to certain types of instrumental music can help them with their productivity levels.”
“The music can function as a sort of ‘white noise’, cancelling out potentially distracting ambient noise. Provided the music has a calm, regular beat, it can actually help us to stay calm, reducing our stress, slowing our heartrate, and moderating our pulse. This makes it easier for us to focus on the task at hand rather than entering into ‘flight or fight’ mode, in which it can be very difficult to think clearly because of our elevated levels of adrenaline and cortisol.” A video of the experiment can be found here.
Scala Radio is a ‘classical music station for those that lead a modern life’. The station plays familiar masters from Mozart and Holst to new works from living composers Karl Jenkins, Rebecca Dale, Thom Yorke (Radiohead), film scores and musicals plus music performed by young artists like Sheku Kanneh-Mason. For more information and to listen online go here.
