How Music Can Increase Your Productivity
Over the years music has evolved to become an indispensable part of our society and in recent times it isn’t just restricted to social gatherings and parties anymore, music has wormed its way into offices and workplaces. In this article Amilia Anderson looks at the benefits of music at work.
Over the years music has evolved to become an indispensable part of our society and in recent times it isn’t just restricted to social gatherings and parties anymore, music has wormed its way into offices and workplaces. Some individuals erroneously think that combining music and work hampers the productivity of employees, but this is not quite true.
Researchers have proven that listening to music while working increases efficiency and productivity, people who listened to music while working were discovered to be 90% more productive than those who didn’t. This article will explore the relationship between music and productivity and the ways music helps to increase your productivity.
It is important to state that the belief that music increase productivity is not a mere superstition, it actually has scientific backing. Scientists have discovered that listening to music activates different areas of the brain and triggers the release of a chemical known as dopamine; this is the same chemical that our body releases when we are eating our favorite food. The feeling associated with this chemical is that of pleasure and satisfaction. That is exactly the same thing that happens to our body whenever we listen to music anywhere, even at work. This chemical also helps to improve focus. Below are some of the ways music can increase productivity
Increases Concentration
Work places are not always as quiet as they need to be for workers to focus, the noise from office machines such as printers and photocopiers, conversations, telephone ringing and so on can be very annoying and distracting. Most often people find it hard to fully concentrate on their work without getting their attention diverted every now and then, this occasional distraction has cumulative negative effects that end up reducing the productivity of the worker.
Listening to music while working eliminates this problem. Listening to classical music or music without lyrics help a great deal in increasing the attention span of the worker. The music shuts out the distracting noise in the surrounding thereby making the worker to focus more on his work, because he is oblivious of the distractions around. Once concentration is achieved, the worker can work at a better speed with increased efficiency.
Reduces Boredom and Increase Creativity
Most workers get bored always doing the same routine on a daily basis, over time this begins to affect their productivity. Nobody will put in his best into what he considers uninteresting and boring, instead of the work being exciting, it becomes more like a burden to them. A major way of tackling boredom is by listening to music. This is especially true for repetitive tasks.
The SoundChime.com studies have shown that listening to pop music eliminates boredom, it changes the mood of the worker form a moody one to a happy one, this increases the efficiency of the worker and also enhances the problem solving skills of the worker. With music, thinking outside the box is easier and faster for the worker, and the chances of making mistakes are reduced to the barest minimum.
Improves Work Environment and Attitude
Music has a way of changing the mood of people, that is why certain songs are played for specific occasions. For example in a funeral service, solemn songs are played because people are meant to be sober, in a party fast and loud hip hop songs are played to thrill the audience and get them into a partying mood. The same is true for music and work place. Listening to the right music gets you in the mood for work and helps to liven up the atmosphere and make it conducive for work.
Listening to music while working helps to reduce the degrees of stress the body feels,it takes your mind off the problems in the environment and helps you focus solely on work. It also gives off positive vibes and create room for employees to interact well with each other. It creates a welcoming environment for visitors, thereby making them want to stay more or to come back again to do business. Happy and lively employees will definitely produce better results than gloomy and moody ones.
Improves Memory
The fact that music helps you to shut out background noise and distraction while working enables your brain to retain more information. Brain memory and cognition is increased while listening to music. As stated earlier, music triggers good mood, and good mood trigger good memory but bad mood impairs the memory. When the memory is retentive, the chances of making mistake at work are reduced and the worker’s productivity is increased, because a sharp mind will definitely deliver quality service.
Conclusion
It has been established that music helps to increase productivity and the well being of the worker. It is however very important to note that, while working, music should be as soft as possible and the volume should not be too loud. Picking the appropriate song for the job is also necessary to avoid distraction and loss of focus. Also take into consideration type of environment you are working in and the people around, so that your song doesn’t end up distracting them. Non vocal music like jazz and classical are the perfect music genre for work place and help in improving productivity.
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