Top 10 Reasons For Listening To Music At Work

Until my wife and family arrive in June from Spokane I've chosen to rack up some long days here at the office.  It's all good...because I love what I do!

I am an "abnormal" radio listener, because it's my job, but I still enjoy listening in my office while I push paper, compile reports, and generally stay busy on this side of the KYSS-FM microphone.

Why do I enjoy listening to music?  Why do you?  According to academic research, here are the top ten reasons and explanations behind them:

Relaxation: “Calms me down”, “eases stress”, “soothing”

Concentration: “Improves my ability to focus on what I am working on”

Affect management: “Helps me to remain positive”

Block out distractions: “Helps me concentrate, especially when someone else is in the office, or talking on the phone, or having a meeting in my office”

Create variation: “I couldn’t work without it. It would just be a nightmare. Too tedious a job, inputting all day.”

Helps to think about something else: “If music was not my distraction, then something else would be, i.e. something unproductive such as fiddling with papers or gazing out of the window”

For entertainment: “It keeps me company when there isn’t anyone else around”

For enjoyment: “I feel more comfortable, it makes things more enjoyable, therefore I feel better about doing it, I guess. I suppose, in a nutshell, I just like it.”

Makes time go quicker: “It just helps the day to go on. It would be a long day without it.”

Lifts energy: “I feel a physical feeling of almost elation.”