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| Calming | 81% | 782 votes | Total: 971 votes | |
| Distracting | 19% | 189 votes |
Calming
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Add to FavoritesEverybody's job is hard and for the majority of people, nobody wants to be at their job. Given the choice most people would love to stay at home watching television, rather than having to work for eight hours a day in a place they can't stand. Most jobs are tedious, stressful and very much something that we are doing because we have to to them. So given that most people don't like their jobs, what can employers do to help make the burden a little easier? The answer is simple. Play music for their employees.
I have worked in a number of supermarkets and other retail places. They can be quite difficult places to work. For the most part, you are standing all day, unless you happen to be sitting on a checkout, and have to put up with severe back pain from the most uncomfortable seats in the world. On top of your body being in an unnatural position for eight hours straight, you then have to try and cope with irate, rude customers, that seem to think just because you're wearing a name badge, they can treat you like absolute rubbish. Then of course you have your manager barking orders at you, and telling you to do the task you've just done differently, even though he was the one who told you to do it that way in the first place.
This can all add up to a genuinely stressful environment and by the end of the day you can be left feeling washed out, down and not wanting to return to work the next day. Though it may seem simplistic, music playing in the background of your work environment can help to keep your mood balanced. I have found that after a customer has complained about something, and I have dealt with it, as politely as I could of course, walking away and focusing on the music that is playing helps me to forget about what just happened, and so I can go back to work more productively.
Music playing at work of course has to follow some rules. It can not be played too loudly. This will put customers off, and they will rush through the shop and vow never to come again. Think of each time you walk into a music store, and they have some insane music blaring out and it is actually hurting your ears. As you try to concentrate on what you went in there for, do you sometimes think, this isn't worth it and walk out? I know I do. Loud music will also give the employees a headache, adding to their stress levels, and damaging their sense of wellbeing.
The music must be current, well known music. In many stores now they have taken to a system of cost cutting. That is, that they play music that no one has ever heard of, so that they don't have to pay any licence fees or royalties. To the customers this may not seem a big deal, but as an employee spending most of their life where they work, having to listen to the same dreary, depressing, drivel repeated over and over again can prove to be very distracting and can really effect your mood for the day. Because the music is so bad, you actually concentrate on it more than you would if it was songs you enjoyed and therefore could not possibly be as productive as you should be.
Though I really do hate to hear this kind of ridiculous non-music played in supermarkets, even now that I don't work there anymore, I still feel that it is better than no music at all. When there is no music playing in your workplace, the day can feel twice as long. You can become cranky and snap at your colleagues. You lose any drive that you had on your way to work that morning because as soon as you walk into a place and all you can hear is babies screaming, mothers yelling at them , and that beep, beep, beep of the checkouts, you feel yourself deflating. Walking around the same floor for eight hours a day, trying to do a job and block out the noise of the customers by filling your head with anything and everything, because there is no music to do that for you, is much more distracting than if there was some nice gentle music playing in the background, something with an uplifting beat to help calm you through the day.
Learn more about this author, Anna Maria Ryan.
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Distracting
I have always listened to music when I was working. Sometimes the music was piped in through the office P.A. system and other times it was through my own radio or CD player. At home, I would listen to music as I cleaned or cooked. For years, it seemed as if there was always music in the background of my life. After having been away from the general workforce for several years, I returned a few months ago. My position as a secretary-telemarket er found me alone in a very quiet office on several occasions. I figured a little background music would make the hours go by faster and keep my mood upbeat as I made calls and completed various tasks. I was so very wrong.
I decided to stream my background music from favorite radio station via the internet. I logged on, tuned in, and prepared to enjoy the tunes and a very productive afternoon. No sooner had I turned the music on, did the phone ring. I answered but soon realized that the DJ's voice in the background, although soft and not audible to my caller, was a distraction for me. My caller's voice and the DJ's blended together and I had to completely lower the computer's volume. Maybe I was simply out of practice with shutting out distractions while taking phone calls. I did manage to handle my caller's questions and I decided that since the phone rang infrequently, I would leave my music on as I completed some data entry work. I really didn't want to go back to working in complete silence.
In addition to my data entry, I was required to make a certain number of telemarketing calls each day. I dutifully dialed the first number on my list and prepared to either leave a message or speak with a person. The first call went smoothly as the song playing in the background was soft and melodic. I made my way through about a dozen calls when I realized I was listening too closely to the commercials and news updates. I had lost my place in my list. I considered shutting down the radio station but now I was determined to be able to have the background noise and do my job well. I tried a couple of more calls and found that especially when a song I really like played, I was distracted and my vocal skills suffered. Admitting defeat, I disconnected my link to the radio station and finished my work in silence.
Not all jobs require background silence, and in all actuality, my job doesn't really require it. I am just incapable of concentrating on a telemarketing phone call when there is music in the background. Maybe if I was working forty hours a week in this position, I would be able to listen to music while calling clients. I remember years ago when I worked full-time in another office where music was piped in daily, the music never hurt my concentration for my work and I enjoyed the tunes in the background immensely. Unfortunately I now realize that this job is different and I personally need the quiet to perform it successfully.
If I worked in an assembly line job, I could see where background music could make the day go by faster, but what if the music wasn't the style you enjoyed? If country music is like nails on the chalkboard to you, eight hours of the twang and guitar could send you right over the edge. If the music is annoying it will ultimately become a distraction. And what if you do enjoy the music being played? If you are singing along with a favorite song, your focus may not be on the task at hand and could potentially pose a safety issue for you or others in your work area.
A resolved statement that listening to music at work is either calming or distracting is very subjective to the individual making that claim. There seems to be an equal number of supporters for both sides of the issue because it really depends on the personality of the worker and the type of job being performed. Personally, I feel that for me to listen to music as I work, especially when I am on the phone, is not only distracting but also discourteous to the client on the other end of the line.
Learn more about this author, Barb Hopkins.
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