I can only speak for myself about listening to music at work. First of all, I'm long retired from the 9 to 5 office slavery I endured for more than 40 years. As of now, my daily work involves two types. First, for two days a week I volunteer at a senior center as a group discussion leader and lecturer on art. In those jobs, music at work would be a distraction and not appropriate when dealing with group meetings. However, when my senior group is doing individual projects, such as sketching or reading, I add recorded music as quiet background sound to the room.
Because all of my classes involve people age 65 and older, some considerably older, I select popular music from the 30s, 40s and 50s, usually Big Band, crooners (Crosby, Sinatra, Nat Cole, Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney) and Broadway musicals (Gypsy, South Pacific, Carousel, Oklahoma). Occasionally we invite music lecturers to present programs, and they play original or recorded programs. Examples are operas, symphonic, piano, as well as ethnic Jewish, Italian, Mexican and German.
We also hold dances and exercise classes for our elderly groups, with occasional live musicians, but mostly recorded. The volunteers work with individuals and couples to encourage activity. We've used all kinds of music, especially those with heavy rythymic beats, including military marches, African, Caribbean, Mexican, Irish and many others. We have tried rock and rap, but always get very negative response from our elderly clients. They find most of the contemporary youth music too noisy.
As for the four to eight hours I spend every day alone at home writing and designing on my computer, there is always recorded background music playing. I'm not sure if it helps in my creative abilities, but I find almost any type of music can be very calming if I keep the sound low. As an elderly person, my prime choices are confined primarily in classical, opera, Broadway musicals of the 30s to the 80s, Frank Sinatra, Nat Cole, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald and Big Band era of 30s to the 50s.
Of course, as the expected gripe from a griping old guy, I find almost all rock music created since the Presley era (including Elvis) too disturbing and distracting from doing my work. The worst effects on my tranquility and computer concentration are the current crop of rap singers (artists?), who are much too discordant, raw and obscene for my taste.