August 15, 2013
There are little things that people do that can cause us to scream in our heads – “Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God, will you stop PLEASE!” – but the annoyances are usually so trivial that no one ever really shares their frustration out loud…at least not until it’s too late to sound rational.
Luckily, this blog series compiles a list of remedies to help subside those painful, headache inducing, workplace annoyances.
Today’s installment of Workplace Annoyances quietly asks that we all consider our volume while working in the office.
Rule #3. Do you enjoy listening to music while you work? Great! Just consider your co-workers preferences as well, please.
Recent studies have shown that music can be conducive to some individual’s productivity level. In fact, according to this article, U.K. Music Licensers suggest that under certain circumstances, music can actually boost workplace productivity.
So with that said, listening to music while working is not the issue. However, how you go about listening to your music at work could be.
Imagine:
You work best while bumping to some sweet EDM beats. You are an EDM fanatic and could never imagine working on excel sheets or a business proposal without Alesso coming in hot through the speakers. However, while you may enjoy fist pumping to the beat, your co-worker in the cubicle next to you doesn’t quite work as well under the same pretenses.
In fact, all throughout college your co-worker enlisted herself to the quiet zone of the library, working best when she is alone with her thoughts. Your music is seriously grinding her gears and affecting her work routine. While your productivity might sky-rocket with the help of EDM, hers certainly plummets.
To you, EDM is a workplace booster, but to her EDM is a workplace annoyance.
See how this could easily cause an issue?
However, this is not to say that you should revert your personality to work in silence. Instead, a compromise can easily be ensued.
How to go about listening to music in the office:
- Establish working conditions with everyone in your immediate area:
- Do you like to listen to music while you work?
- What kind of music do you like? What kind of music do you not like?
- Would you prefer that I listen to my music through my headphones?
- Will you please kindly let me know if my music is too loud.
As long as you are considerate of your co-workers, and don’t just assume that everyone else likes to listen to EDM for 6 hours straight, you should be OK.
