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Is listening to music at work calming or distracting?

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Calming		80%	760 votes	Total: 945 votes
Distracting		20%	185 votes	Total: 945 votes

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Distracting

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Just like cigarette smoke can irritate other people in an enclosed area, sound, even the wonderful sounds of great music can be a distraction, an irritant to someone that just doesn't want to hear it.

Therefore, in a group situation at work, I would have to say that it's a distraction, or could be a distraction for at least some of the workers having to listen to it.

In an office workplace, non-verbal music is best. Because people tend to be distracted by lyrics rather than melody.

Deciding whether music is calming or distracting at work really depends on the type of tasks you're working on at any given moment and your frame of mind as you're trying to complete your assigned tasks.

There's also the issue of personal taste. If you love Country music, and your supervisor has old-school rock and roll, giving you a 'blast from the past' then it's possible that you won't enjoy the experience.

Also, some of us suffer from horrible headaches and migraines. When an intense headache strikes, the last thing you want to do is listen to someone's idea of 'calming' music - silence would be golden.

If music is played at work for everyone to listen to, but you're struggling with a complex problem or you're trying to deal with an difficult client, then the songs blaring in the background as you're trying to concentrate could be an irritating distraction.

A busy restaurant or store will usually have music playing in order to maintain a continuous 'buzz' of energy and noise in the room, however, an accountant's office may have the tinkling of a miniature water-fall and Debussy or Chopin gently playing in the background.

As the accounting office example shows, sometimes music can be calming, but it's unfair to assume that it's calming to a group of people, all day, everyday.

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Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Is listening to music at work calming or distracting?

Distracting

1 of 19
by Barb Hopkins

I have always listened to music when I was working. Sometimes the music was piped in through the office P.A. system and other
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2 of 19
by Erin Smyth

For years I thought that listening to music at work would be a definite plus. Sometimes during school classes, ones that
read more

Calming

1 of 66
by Anna Maria Ryan

Everybody's job is hard and for the majority of people, nobody wants to be at their job. Given the choice most people would
read more
2 of 66
by Poetic Enigma

First of all, I would say it depends on what kind of music is being played, and what kind of work environment is around.
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