Music in Managed Office Space in London: Distracting or Productive?

Many people find that listening to music whilst working in managed office space in London helps them to stay focused and productive throughout the day. However, in theory this seems like a contradictory exercise; providing your brain with more noise and more aspects to divert attention would surely have the opposite effect.

Perhaps not, research shows that listening to certain types of music whilst trying to concentrate on a specific task for a prolonged period of time aids in blocking out the numerous distractions that the unconscious part of our brain tries to focus on against our will.

Music has a specific effect upon our brains which produces positive emotions; the unobtrusive, constant noise neutralises the unconscious part of our minds which is constantly aiming to shift our focus, allowing our conscious to deal with the task in hand.

One flaw to this theory however is the fact that our minds are programmed to pay particular attention to human speech and vocalisation. Therefore, music with catchy lyrics may not be the best choice when engaging in work which requires high concentration. Overall ambient noise is the supposed sweet spot for creativity and optimum production throughout the day.

What Type of Music Should you Listen to?

The type of music which we listen to is in fact a very important part of this theory. A study carried out by Mindlab International shows that differing genres of music have different effects on performance on varying tasks, as does whether or not we listen to any music at all.

• Classical music: participants became better at mathematical equations than when listening to no music at all with an increase in accuracy of 12%.

• Pop music: increased the speed in which participants carried out tasks such as data entry.

• Ambient music: produced an increase in accuracy across the differing tasks compare to when no music was playing.

• Dance music overall produced the best results for accuracy and speed across all tasks showing improvements in spell-checking, solving equations, tackling tricky mathematical word problems, proof-reading and abstract reasoning tasks.

So, next time you see a colleague with their headphones on within a managed office space in London, it may be a good idea not to interrupt their flow.

It is also important to remember that different music produces different emotions for different people. One person may connect with a certain genre of music that may produce feelings of anger or annoyance for another, consequently imposing music upon people may actually create a decrease in productivity and lower a person’s mood.

Music within a managed office space in London is, for this reason generally left to individuals as preference is completely subjective. Listening to music which is most familiar to you is recommended for the highest levels of productivity.

The Business of Music Outside of Managed Office Space in London

Another form of music, which has been specifically designed for the purpose of being enjoyable and entertaining without drawing your attention away from the task in hand, is the video game soundtrack.

Game developers focus on creating subdued yet immersive soundtracks that draw you in to the game without creating a distraction and many argue that this works in the same way when we are attempting to concentrate at the office. One of the most popular suggestions on the site Reddit for ‘music that helps with concentration’ is the SimCity soundtrack.

A recent article from the BBC showcased how seriously many businesses take the inclusion of music within their work environments. The article stated that police in England and Wales spent £660,952 on licence fees over a year so that staff could listen to music in their offices and that business owners would rather compromise on the temperature of their heating than the playing of music in their work spaces.

Other statistics show that one in five business owners believe they would lose money if they weren’t playing music to their employees throughout the day. Much of the managed office space in London will often play quiet music within their reception areas believing it lifts a person’s mood when entering the workplace.

Clearly, there is strong belief in the power of music and many employers regard the benefits for their employees’ mood and wellbeing as well as the business’ profits to be extremely high.

Despite the fact that many modern centres providing managed office space in London supply a variety of breakout areas and many achieve a relaxed environment throughout their spaces, there will always undoubtedly be those distracting, niggling noises or those colleagues who are unaware of their own sound levels. Having your headphones nearby may just be the answer to saving your sanity and getting the job done.

Let us know how music in the workplace helps or hinders you. Are you a forced to listen or someone who can’t go without?

Londonoffices.com are specialists in London office space, providing a free, personal service for companies seeking a London based home for their business. If you are interested in finding a new office space call on +44 (20) 3856 8704