At Work Silence is Still Golden
At Work Silence is Still Golden
Working quietly can rekindle a deeper focus
Author: Elizabeth King
Do you know people at work who sit snuggly at their computer and listens to the radio all day long? They might perk up from time to time to giddily remark, “I love this song.” They are the ones who gasp dramatically and say they would die if they couldn’t listen to music at work as if it’s supplying the oxygen to their cubicle. I am not one of those people.
I love music. I sing along to the radio on the way to work and I sing on the way home, but I do not like to listen to music while I work.
First let me be clear. I am not opposed to listening to music during mind-numbing monotonous work, but rather jobs that require some level of concentration. When I have to use any depth of my intelligence, I just find it hard to do when there is music playing.
There must be evidence showing that music can be too distracting for work, I thought to myself.
So off I went to the library. I was amicably chatting with a woman until I told her what I was researching. She frowned and said, “I don’t know how I would drive without music!” (Another dramatic, music-loving exaggerator I thought.) I explained that I was not looking to ban music altogether, but rather looking into its negative effects at work. She smiled politely, but she looked at me like a teen looks at a cop who just busted her house party.
I understand. For these people who really love to groove at work, I am a bit of a damper. For these musical enthusiasts, I am that cop.
Personality can affect our ability to concentrate with background music. An extrovert prefers the more external world and the introvert is more internally focused. The extrovert is often energized by socializing, whereas the introvert feels drained. Generally introverts, like me, are seeking out refuge in the quietest areas of work, while extroverts carry on, seemingly unaffected by distractions.
As an introvert, I have an almost disabling ability to concentrate on writing when I am around music or noise. Thankfully, Dr. Adrian Furnham, a psychology professor at University College London in the UK, has got my back on this one.
In Dr. Furnham’s 2002 study “Music While You Work: The Differential Distraction of Background Music on the Cognitive Test Performance of Introverts and Extroverts,” he found that there was a detrimental effect on immediate recall on the memory test for both groups when music was played.” So both personality types suffered from the distraction of music.
This permits introverted employees to smugly sit back and say, “Now can you please keep it down, extroverts? Music is slowing you down too.”
“If you are doing logico-analytic type work, then upbeat music that might put you in a positive mood is detrimental for performance. In contrast, music that might induce a moderately negative state seems to facilitate performance.”
When I asked Dr. Furnham about his studies, he summarized by explaining that there are three factors that affect task completion: the nature of the task, the personality type, and the distraction or music. He notes: “The worst possibility for task completion is an introvert doing a complex (verbal) task with loud, familiar vocal music.” He added that the best results arose from an extrovert completing simple repetitive tasks to upbeat music.
For those employees who refuse to turn off their music, at least consider your choice of music. Dr. Mike Oaksford of Birkbeck College London, UK, has studied the effects of music and mood on performance. I asked him for insight on this topic. “It all depends on what you are trying to do [at work],” he said. “If you are doing logico-analytic type work, then upbeat music that might put you in a positive mood is detrimental for performance. In contrast, music that might induce a moderately negative state seems to facilitate performance.
“For creative work,” he continued, “the opposite seems true. Negative mood is detrimental for performance, whereas positive mood facilitates performance.” So the artsy employees should keep their tunes upbeat.
Work is not merely a robotic sequence of tasks and productivity. Your morale is often as important as your work. Why would I deny the gleeful cries from coworkers who want me to know what songs they love? Why would I demand the stranger in the library turn off her radio?
But quietly working can rekindle a deeper focus you may have lost in your music. There is a world of research. I am not suggesting music is negative, but rather that silence has proven its benefits.
Try a day or two without musical accompaniment. Take comfort, you dramatic types—you won’t die.
Originally Published in Your Workplace magazine issue 11-6
