Nowadays, most companies use the concept of open space in the office to ensure more effective work for their employees. The idea itself is aimed at creating a comfortable working environment for collaboration. However, the lack of privacy can lead to stress, irritability, and a drop in productivity. Recent research shows that employees’ well-being is reduced by 32% and productivity goes down by 15% in open-plan offices.
It is very difficult to stay focused in open offices. But luckily, music can help solve this pressing problem. By selecting the right lofi background music with no copyright issues, you can create a perfect working setting that inspires and keeps the working mood high.
What’s Special About Background Music?
Americans spend 32 hours a week listening to music in various circumstances — in the gym, in the car, even in a restaurant. And this figure has increased by five hours since 2016. Music is often perceived as entertainment or as a way to escape reality, but why not use it to create a more comfortable and focused environment at work? While familiar office partitions continue to crumble to make room for open spaces, music is becoming an effective tool to help you be more productive in the tasks you perform.
We work in a world that has nothing to do with silence. Around 75% of Americans suffer from at least one painful symptom per month due to stress. This is evidenced by data from a 2017 study by the American Psychological Association. And it is music that can fix this situation by:
- Inspiring and boosting your mood;
- Relieving stress and switching your attention;
- Keeping your focus on tasks and assignments that really matter;
- Helping you deliver your regular tasks better.
There are many scientific concepts and beliefs confirming the good effect of background music. Thus, Yerkes-Dodson Law demonstrates the complexity of our relationship with stress. Each of us strives to find a “golden mean” between a half-asleep state and feverish activity so that our life becomes happier, and our work brings good results. But if you look at society as a whole, breaking down barriers in our personal and professional lives pushes us into extreme levels of stress that have a serious impact on our performance.
Survey results on the effect of music on our mood show how individuals can manage their emotional state with music. Respondents use music to calm down, distract themselves, or throw out negativity — all of which help us manage stress. It has long been known that music strengthens the physical and mental state and reduces the level of anxiety in patients. The music that we listen to at work has the same beneficial effect. A recent Spotify study found that 61% of respondents turn on music while working to improve their mood and productivity. What’s more, 90% of employees achieve better results, and 88% are less likely to make mistakes when using music as a productivity tool.