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Post by OziRiS on Dec 3, 2012 13:00:07 GMT
A couple of weeks ago I was working as a temp in a warehouse with a couple of other guys. At one point one of them said: "Sure would be nice if we had a radio out here", to which the other guy replied: "Music makes you work slower."
I asked him where he got that idea from. Apparantly, while working for German supermarket chain Aldi when he was younger, he was told by a manager that Aldi would not permit employees to listen to music in any area of the store where customers were not allowed.
The manager referred to some obscure study that the chain apparantly had done by an outside consulting firm. The study seemed to indicate that while gentle muzak in the store itself had a "positive" effect on customers, making them stay longer and take their time, potentially buying more stuff they really didn't need when they went in, that same calming effect would make the employees less efficiant, which would then cost the store money.
I've looked around the web for anything that could prove/disprove this and so far it's a toss-up. I've found articles supporting it, articles saying that music indeed has an effect on your work efficiancy, but it can be positive as well as negative and others stating no effect at all.
So:
Does music make you work slower? Does it do nothing at all to your efficiancy? Or does it depend on what kind of music you listen to, combined with what kind of work you do? For instance, does fast-paced music make you faster when doing physical labor, but cause lapses in concentration when doing paperwork? Does slow music do the opposite? And what about talk radio and news broadcasts?
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Post by freegan on Dec 3, 2012 14:27:17 GMT
I find that the human voice in radio broadcasts impairs my concentration whereas instrumentals-only aids it, depending on the tempo and volume.
Coincidentally, slow paced instrumentals make me a more courteous driver while loud heavy rock makes me aggressive.
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Post by OziRiS on Dec 3, 2012 14:30:41 GMT
I've noticed myself that talk radio and news broadcasts can make me slow down or stop completely to listen. Also, music that I find annoying, e.g. anything too pop, can make me focus more on the music and less on the work. On the other hand, anything that I actually like can make me a little happier which makes time seem to fly by quicker.
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Dec 3, 2012 15:11:32 GMT
I am with the performance depends on tempo group. I worked for a retail chain that pumped Muzak into the store (easy listening & instrumental were the only permitted channels), which would make the day drag & employees seemed to perform slower. However, in the warehouse, we had no contsraints on music, so rock it was. Listening to AC/DC or Metallica definitely made it feel like I was moving at a quicker pace (pretty sure it was as I would go with the beat of the music).
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Post by OziRiS on Dec 4, 2012 20:11:57 GMT
I'm with you Urban, but how about putting it to the test? This is something that affects almost everyone every day and I've said for a long time that the show needs to get back on that track of "everyday myths" as opposed to all the movie stuff they've been doing for a long time.
How about bringing in volunteers to do some mundane job (like cutting heads off matches for the YouTube Special)?
On the first run, the volunteers have no music = Control
On the second run, they have a random selection of music = Does music in general slow you down?
To elaborate even further on the myth:
3rd run: up-tempo music. Preferably something fitting the average age of the group. What effect does this have?
4th run: slow music. Classical or instrumental. Effect?
On the 5th, 6th and 7th runs, the volunteers could be given a different task that's less physical and may require more concentration. Could be something like math problems or sorting something relatively difficult (many different types of items/papers with relatively small differences between them, requiring concentration to get right). Then you run it again: No music, up-tempo and slow music. Any difference in performance?
To get the best possible results regarding whether or not music slows your performance, the volunteers should all be told to do their best to finish their tasks correctly instead of quickly. Otherwise you'd also have to do a quality control of the work afterwards and that's not the point of the test. If they all do their best to do it right, any lapses in concentration should be visible in the reduction of work speed in order to do the task correctly.
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Post by srmarti on Dec 4, 2012 22:25:31 GMT
There are likely so many conditions that effect the result in the real world, a blanket statement like the OP noted is essentially useless. What sort of music, how loud, what's the work task, what's the worker's attitude towards that type of music and or the task he's doing?
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Dec 5, 2012 3:52:48 GMT
There are likely so many conditions that effect the result in the real world, a blanket statement like the OP noted is essentially useless. What sort of music, how loud, what's the work task, what's the worker's attitude towards that type of music and or the task he's doing? I think what Oziris is suggesting for the test structure would address all the conditions you mention. But, in the end, it would be a test of the general question "Does music effect the way we work?" As opposed to "Who is effected by music at work?", which would be much too time consuming for the MBs to test. |
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 5, 2012 9:33:35 GMT
Music may make me work slower, but I sure as heck enjoy the work more, so in saying that, if you want any form of employee happiness, give 'em the music.....
AS a former employer (Landlord public house) my Employee's were always happier in their work when the Music was playing, and a happy work force for me gets more positive results?...
As in, do you want it done now, or do you want it done Right?....
I also do NOT hold with this productivity cr@p... working at 100% all the time and expecting 110% effort does not make a happy work force....
Having to keep to a certain productivity for me sends out a "Shoddy workmanship" message that as long as the results are in nothing else matters, and people dont want to waste time putting simple errors right if it looks like that will slow down the job?....
But then again, I have always worked to a Get it right FIRST time ethic....
Its not as if you can accept second best when sitting 10 ft in front of a load that invents new post-codes (Zip codes) if you get it wrong?...
Jamie may want BIG boom, Dragon dont want even the smallest bang................
When I am on my own in my own work-shop, compared to NO music which in some ways makes the job at hand unpleasant, I have found time passes better with the music on, and I am much more willing to complete the task at hand?.....
For me the Radio is a absolute MUST....
I once turned down a Wagon on the grounds the radio want working.
I had a 800 mile trip, no radio?... thats worse than doing the same trip in winter with no heater....
As there were other Wagons available in the yard, no mither really.....
If it had been the last wagon in the yard, I may have looked a bit more stringent to find other reasons to make it un-roadworthy?....
My excuse was that I wouldnt have any ability to get warning of traffic news, delays, Weather updates (It was winter..) and such and may therefore get stuck when pre-warned I can plan an alternative route.....
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Post by srmarti on Dec 6, 2012 1:08:35 GMT
[
I think what Oziris is suggesting for the test structure would address all the conditions you mention. But, in the end, it would be a test of the general question "Does music effect the way we work?" As opposed to "Who is effected by music at work?", which would be much too time consuming for the MBs to test.[/quote]
I get that. I think the effort of isolating the parameters is going to be somewhat more difficult than one might think. It's likely to vary as much from one individual to the next and with individual's mood that day than the presence of the music at all. I think it will take a huge amount of testing, likely more than the show is likely to take on to shift out a meaningful answer.
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Post by c64 on Dec 10, 2012 16:54:49 GMT
It depends on the kind of job you do. "Mindless robot" conveyor belt work or work which requires a lot of thinking.
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Post by OziRiS on Dec 10, 2012 18:28:14 GMT
There are likely so many conditions that effect the result in the real world, a blanket statement like the OP noted is essentially useless. What sort of music, how loud, what's the work task, what's the worker's attitude towards that type of music and or the task he's doing? I think what Oziris is suggesting for the test structure would address all the conditions you mention. But, in the end, it would be a test of the general question "Does music effect the way we work?" As opposed to "Who is effected by music at work?", which would be much too time consuming for the MBs to test. Exactly my point UMB. I'm pretty sure you could get some sort of viable result out of this. There may be certain ways to tweak this or even entirely different ways to do it altogether, but I think you could come up with a result that at least gives some indication as to whether or not there's some truth to this at all. srmarti: I couldn't agree more with you that the individual could play a huge part in this. If you're used to having music when you work, not having it might just seem wrong and vice versa. But that's really just an assumption on our side at this point. If there is, as you and I both expect, a huge variety of circumstances like music type, music loudness and the individual's mood, preferences and previous experiences that play in to whether or not music makes indiviudal people work slower or not, then the myth is effectively busted and the testing method proved viable. Remember, the myth is that music (in general) makes people (in general) work slower than they would if there was no music. If it turns out that you and I are right and it's all down to circumstance, then what's to debate about the result? |
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Post by Cybermortis on Dec 10, 2012 18:43:55 GMT
There is the related myth that music can help you revise/do homework better.
My best guess is that if you are performing actions/work that requires concious thought then music *may* distract you and lower performance. If, however, you are performing an act that requires less concious thought it may help - thinking too hard about what you are doing can impair performance, as many a sports player has discovered to their (or their teams) cost.
Of course if you work at a job long enough most of it becomes automatic, so again music may help.
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Post by GTCGreg on Dec 10, 2012 19:37:31 GMT
A number of years ago, I worked in a small office that always had background music playing through the PA system. One day, everyone knew something wasn't "right" until that afternoon when one of the secretaries (yes, it was that long ago) said; "Hey, where did our music go." It was only then that we realized that the FM receiver had died.
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Post by srmarti on Dec 11, 2012 1:08:44 GMT
[quote srmarti: I couldn't agree more with you that the individual could play a huge part in this. If you're used to having music when you work, not having it might just seem wrong and vice versa. But that's really just an assumption on our side at this point. If there is, as you and I both expect, a huge variety of circumstances like music type, music loudness and the individual's mood, preferences and previous experiences that play in to whether or not music makes indiviudal people work slower or not, then the myth is effectively busted and the testing method proved viable. Remember, the myth is that music (in general) makes people (in general) work slower than they would if there was no music. If it turns out that you and I are right and it's all down to circumstance, then what's to debate about the result?[/quote] It's just my SWAG on the situation. It's okay to have an idea of what results you expect based on the theory. Just saying unless you narrow the conditions somewhat, I don't think you'll be able to draw any conclusions. I think getting a meaningful answer might involve more than the show could take on. |
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 11, 2012 8:45:57 GMT
Go to any Factory with a measurable work-flow, No radio for one week, Radio for the second, see who makes greater productivity....?...
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Post by the light works on Dec 11, 2012 18:28:04 GMT
I had an apprentice who had a habit of twiddling with the jobsite radio. not sure if he got any more productive when it broke and I chose not to fit it or if he just found something else to distract him.
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Post by srmarti on Dec 12, 2012 2:43:20 GMT
Go to any Factory with a measurable work-flow, No radio for one week, Radio for the second, see who makes greater productivity....?... That's one step. I think you have to narrow further from "any factory". |
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Post by OziRiS on Jun 1, 2015 14:11:41 GMT
Just going to bump this thread, as it hasn't been active in almost 3 years and I still feel like this could make an interesting show.
srmarti made some valid points about sample size and I'd just like to get this to the top of the pile to see if anyone might have anything new to add.
I personally still feel like this myth is about people in general working slower in general when music is being played, which would mean that pretty much any result is a viable result, as long as it can be repeated with a large enough test group and within a reasonable margin of error.
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Post by the light works on Jun 1, 2015 15:02:44 GMT
It would be interesting to know the answer. there are a lot of variables involved, that would affect whether or not music in the workplace improves productivity or reduces it.
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Post by ironhold on Jun 1, 2015 15:06:55 GMT
Among my many duties at the local newspaper, I also work as one of the couriers.
I rate the radio on my car as a piece of emergency equipment. Not only does the music help keep me awake at night when I'm driving (let's just say that my family isn't keen on letting me "sleep all day" even though I should), several local radio stations have partnered with various local news channels to broadcast weather reports & breaking news announcements.
It may slow me down on occasion when I have to go through the dial (stations keep fading in and out), but I'd say that "awake and alert, if occasionally cruising through the frequencies" is better than "on schedule but slowly nodding off".
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