Appliance of Science: Does listening to music while you work make you more effective?

With so many people working from home at the moment, earphones are a must and work music is on trend, but does it help with productivity?

Can listening to classical music improve your productivity?

I prefer as much quiet as possible while I work but some people swear by music in the workplace. With so many working from home this past year, and earphones a standard work accessory, does music make them more productive? In the interest of science, I’ve decided to listen to various types of music as I write this piece.

What kind of music?

It seems that classical music can be beneficial to certain aspects of our work productivity, depending on which scientific reports you want to follow. Although it may be down to the specific composer rather than the genre itself.

The Mozart effect

One musical genius in particular seems to feature in many of these studies, Mozart; his K.448 sonata is often used in comparative studies when investigating the effect, if any, that music has on productivity. Many of these studies show a positive result when subjects listed to this particular piece; there is even the concept of the Mozart effect, the proposal that listening to the musical composition of a genius helps create one, or at least improves the listener’s overall smarts, even fleetingly.

The idea of the Mozart effect began with a 1993 study that reported an improvement in spatial reasoning in test subjects after listening to Mozart. These results were fleeting (lasting less than 15 minutes) and there has been mixed success when others have attempted to recreate them.

Studies have shown that listening to Mozart’s sonata increased brain activity associated with memory, cognition and problem solving.

No words

Regardless of the genre of music, the absence of lyrics is definitely a good thing when it comes to staying focused. Listening to music with lyrics is particularly difficult for tasks involving language, writing or reading.

All that jazz

Any studies on productivity while listening to jazz seem to report un-favourably for this much loved genre of music. While it may have little impact when working on more mundane tasks, it is not considered helpful to any jobs involving memory or mathematical calculations.

LoFi Music

One type of music that seems to feature heavily in playlists offering to reduce stress and help with concentration is LoFi music. The suggestion is that LoFi gives your brain just enough stimulation to shut out stress and not so much so it causes distraction.

The feel good factor

Other studies suggest another, less direct, effect of music in the work place. It could simply make employees feel valued; a positive vibe in the work force can’t be bad for productivity.

The type of work is also very significant to the impact music will have on productivity. Upbeat music can help with the speed at which more mundane tasks are carried out. It was used in factory settings in the UK during World War 2, apparently increasing productivity by up to 15 percent.

So how did I do?

Limited as my own little study was, my overall results are that music just isn’t for me… in a work sense. I found Mozart’s sonata beautiful, but distracting. I didn’t even bother with anything with lyrics; I did surprise myself with limited success with the LoFi music, as it didn’t seem to distract me as much as I expected.

Of course, I am not a good test subject, I’m one of those people that turns off the radio in the car, so I can concentrate on driving! The bottom line is, science still isn’t sure on this topic, but, if it works for you, keep doing it.