Does music in the workplace help or hinder?

Before you start

List three things that help you work more effectively.

Reading

Read the article about the music influence on people during their working hours.

Police in England and Wales paid £660,952 for licences so staff could listen to music in offices in the past year. The law requires businesses that play any recorded music in public to get licenses from the Performing Right Society (PRS). Listening to a device through headphones, however, is free. But does music played at work help or hinder employees?

PRS, which clearly has a vested interest in music being played at work, cites research stats such as a) 73% of warehouse workers say they are more productive when good background music is being played, b) 65% of businesses say music in the workplace makes us more productive and c) one in five say they would lose business if they didn't play music.

Another study by Teresa Lesiuk found IT specialists who listened to music completed tasks more quickly and came up with better ideas than those who didn't.

However not everyone is convinced by the merits of music in the workplace.

"If people need a high level of concentration, it could be a distraction," says Dr Carolyn Axtell.

The key is control, according to Dr Anneli Haake. "When people choose to listen there can be positive effects – it can be relaxing and help manage other distractions such as noise. But when it's imposed, they can find it annoying and stressful," she says. Problems occur when colleagues clash. "You can look away if you don't want to see something, but you can't close your ears."

Vocabulary

Find the words (1-7) in the article. Match them with the word or phrase (a-g) that has a similar meaning.

1) hinder a) benefit

2) vested interest b) enforced

3) warehouse workers c) prevent

4) merit d) beneficial interest

5) imposed e) argue

6) clash f) refer to

7) cite g) inventory specialist

Match the highlighted words in the article with the definitions (1-6).

1) an give official permission for someone to do or produce something ___________

2) to think of an idea, answer etc __________________________________

3) the people who work for an organization ________________________

4) the room, building etc where you work __________________________________

5) refers to various styles of music or soundscapes primarily intended to be passively listened to __________________________________

6) producing or achieving a lot __________________________________

Speaking

Imagine you are a businessman and you were invited to a TV show. Its main topic is: “Music is regarded as one of the triumphs of human creativity – but does music itself help one to create?” Discuss pros and cons of music in the working place.

Sosuk Ira