10 reasons to play music in your office or workplace

Picture of Rhiannon Jepson

Most of us enjoy listening to music in various aspects of our lives – but we forget that it can be just as beneficial in the workplace too!

Here is our list of the top 10 reasons to use music in your office or workplace, including why playing music can be important to your employee’s health and wellbeing.

Two office staff working on laptops

1. Create a better working environment

Music can enhance the atmosphere and create a more positive space which can help to improve the working environment. It can make staff feel more upbeat and keep them energised throughout the day.  In our survey, around half of people agreeing that listen to music whilst they work makes them feel energised, with around half also saying that music keeps them engaged.1  Playing music that suits the time of the day, season and even the demographic of your team can help to make the workplace feel like a more enjoyable place to be, helping employees to feel motivated and involved.

2. Improve employee wellbeing and engagement

Music can lift the mood and make people feel good which can be a great way to boost wellbeing. It can give a space a more uplifting feel, make people feel more positive and can help employees feel more connected and engaged. By choosing to use music and creating an environment that people enjoy, businesses can make their staff feel more appreciated, something that can be important when it comes to boosting morale and keep teams feeling valued.  As Mikey Dahdah, Warehouse Operative at The Workplace Depot explains, “it makes you feel part of the team and part of a family that they’re paying for TheMusicLicence because it shows that the company does actually care about its employees. They’re willing to spend money on us, so we feel better whilst we’re working.”2

Staff making notes

3. Reduce stress

Research has found that listening to music, no matter what the genre, can help to reduce cortisol, the human stress hormone,3 meaning it can have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of your employees. This is particularly important in the office or workplace environment when staff might be working under pressure or to tight deadlines. According to our survey, 42% of workers said music helped to reduce their stress levels.4 Music can make people feel more positive, put them in the right frame of mind, and even help to lower blood pressure.5

4. Modernise the workplace and attract new talent

Playing music can help to modernise the workplace and give it a fresh and vibrant feel. It can help create a more enjoyable space and be appealing for both existing employees as well as new talent. According to our survey, 82.3% of people agreed that they would prefer a workplace that plays music when considering a new role, while just over 70% said music played at work makes them feel more engaged with the business.6

Three staff members working collectively

5. Improve confidence

Like most employers, you want to develop your team and bring out the best in them, which can include making them feel more confident. Playing music can help with confidence by making employees feel more assured and at ease. In our recent survey, over 90% of people said music makes them feel more confident, with particularly modern songs and songs from the 1990’s.7 Adding songs to your playlist that your employees know and enjoy can help to create a more positive space and add an extra boost to your team.       

6. Bring the team together

Music has the power to bring people together – not just at a festival or live event but in the workplace too. It can help people start conversations, improve collaboration and create a friendly environment that people feel comfortable in.  Getting members of the team to be involved in creating playlists can be a great way for employees to work together and get to know each other. It can also be a great way to make staff feel valued within the workplace and can help to improve morale and engagement.

Red headed woman staring intensely at computer screen

7. Improve productivity

Just like during a workout, a long car journey, or even when getting through household chores, listening to music at work can make us feel more motivated, energised and productive. It can help clear the mind, spark creativity and can help to make the workplace more appealing. Playing a range of music, particularly well-known, upbeat tracks can help to add an extra burst of energy and help teams feel more concentrated on tasks – something that can be particularly important during long hours or repetitive tasks. In our survey, almost 30% of workers believe their concentration was improved when listening to music, with 33% also saying music makes them and their colleagues feel more productive at work.8

8. Reduce distraction

Whether it’s colleagues talking, phones ringing or people moving around, distractions can have a negative impact on productivity and lead workers to become frustrated and demotivated. So much so, that our survey found that UK workers lose up to 15 hours per week to distractions, which is a total of 74 days every year.9  Playing music, however, can help to drown out the distractions of the workplace and can help the mind stay on-track. It can be an improvement on silence too, as Annabelle Earps, Digital PR Manager at The Workplace Depot explains: “a lot of employees can believe that it can be a really huge distraction to their employees, but personally I think it really helps me and really helps everyone else as well. I’ve had previous roles where I have dreaded going into work whereas here, it’s really, really a place I enjoy.” 10

Two people working in a call centre

9. Create a welcoming environment

It’s not just your employees who can benefit from the music that is played, your visitors can too! Just think how playing some upbeat music could create a more welcoming atmosphere for partners and clients visiting your business, or even how it might help to relax interview candidates and put them at ease. Playing music can help create a good first impression for a business and can enhance the space as much as décor, furniture and facilities.

10. Support the music industry

By purchasing TheMusicLicence, businesses can help to support the music industry by ensuring those who are involved in making music are fairly paid for their work.  After our business costs, music licence fees are distributed to music creators via our parent companies PPL and PRS for Music which helps to protect the future of music by ensuring those who write, perform and record it can continue making the music we all love.

References

  1. Survey performed by Attest based on 500 UK adults, in February 2024
  2. https://pplprs.co.uk/success-stories/the-workplace-depot/
  3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285055978_Impact_of_Music_on_Mood_Empirical_Investigation
  4. Survey performed by Attest based on 500 UK adults, in February 2024
  5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285055978_Impact_of_Music_on_Mood_Empirical_Investigation
  6. Survey performed by Attest based on 1000 UK adults, in September 2023
  7. Survey performed by Attest based on 1000 UK adults, in June 2023
  8. Survey performed by Attest based on 500 UK adults, in February 2024
  9. https://pplprs.co.uk/productivity1/uk-workers-lose-up-to-15-hours-a-week-to-distractions-totalling-74-days-every-year/
  10. https://pplprs.co.uk/success-stories/the-workplace-depot/

Author

Picture of Rhiannon Jepson

Rhiannon Jepson

Rhiannon Jepson is a Member of The Chartered Institute of Public Relations and has worked in communication roles for around 7 years. She joined PPL PRS in November 2017, shortly after studying for a degree in English Literature, where she developed her love of writing and creativity. Since then, she has completed the CIPR Foundation course and enjoys bringing together her love of communications and music through her role as Senior PR & Communications Executive.
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