Background music – good or bad for productivity?
As always it is all about context and what you trying the measure. This study found that background music for musicians (not specified in the abstract) leads to greater productivity, believed to be because of greater attention levels, than non-musicians.
This study makes us think about classrooms and workplaces when they put background music on with the intention of increasing attention. Do they take into account the musical background of their students or employees? Do they measure the effectiveness of the background music and how do they measure it? Does the decision maker about the music have a certain personal experience of background music and assume it is the same for everyone?
Take a listen to your classroom or workplace today. If there is background music does it improve your attention or productivity? If so, or if not, why?
