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Can personal stereos improve productivity?
Greg R. Oldham
In today's workforce, managers are often challenged to improve employee productivity. Providing music to employees via personal stereo headsets such as the Sony Walkman is one strategy that may help achieve that goal.
Personal stereos and headsets have grown in popularity so much in the past 20 years that they can now be found in nearly every imaginable setting, from health clubs to libraries. However, they are seldom found in the workplace. Most employees do not have the option listening to music on headsets while they work. This is not to suggest that music is seldom played at work. On the contrary, some estimates indicate that over 135,000 businesses worldwide use music at work. But these businesses typically provide music via background systems — not stereo headsets. With background systems, speakers located in ceilings and walls throughout the workplace provide one type of music programming to all employees at the same time. Employees have little choice but to listen to the music that has been selected for their particular work shift.
The benefits of music
The effects of background music systems have been studied extensively in independent research as well as in studies sponsored by firms that market the systems, such as the Muzak company. Most studies show a productivity increase of about 5 percent after background systems have been installed.
Why does music have this effect? Advocates offer two explanations. One is that music elevates or enhances employees' moods. Proponents argue that music boosts enthusiasm, increases relaxation and lessens nervousness, and that these elevated mood states contribute to higher productivity. The second explanation is that music masks distracting sounds, such as extraneous conversations and machine sounds. When these sounds are masked, employees are better able to concentrate on their jobs, resulting in higher levels of productivity.
The arguments favoring background music are persuasive and the findings documenting productivity increases are impressive. So why even consider stereo headsets? Because in any organization, a large number of employees will probably resist efforts to introduce background music. Muzak's own research indicates that more than 20 percent of employees prefer no music to background music. Other independent research projects also indicate that many employees find background music annoying and, in some cases, an invasion of their privacy.
Providing music via headsets instead of background systems can eliminate the problem. With headsets, individuals don't have to listen to music if they don't want to. Those interested can listen to the music of their choice whenever they wish and experience many of music's proposed benefits — elevated moods, reduced distractions and heightened productivity.
The critical question is, will the use of stereo headsets result in improved productivity among employees who choose to use them? A recently completed study suggests they do, and very effectively.
Stereo Headsets
in one office
Researchers examined the effects of headset use in one office of a large retail organization located in the Midwest. The study participants were 256 nonsupervisory employees who held 32 different clerical and administrative jobs such as data entry, correspondence, and account analysis.
In a preliminary survey, 150 employees indicated they were interested in using headsets at work; 106 employees said they were not. A random sample of 75 employees drawn from the pool of those expressing an interest in headsets was assigned to a “Stereo” group and permitted to use headsets at work for a four-week period. The remaining 181 employees were assigned to a “Control” group and did not use stereos at work.
The average hourly performance rates of employees in the Stereo and Control groups were monitored in the four weeks before headsets were introduced and again during the four weeks headsets were used in the office. In addition, all employees completed two surveys — one before the stereos were introduced; the second after stereos had been removed from the office. Both surveys measured mood states such as fatigue, nervousness, enthusiasm, relaxation and the number of experienced distractions.
Because the researchers suspected that music might not enhance the productivity of employees in all types of jobs, a human resource manager rated the overall complexity of each job in the office. The researchers hypothesized that in simple and routine jobs, employees would pay more attention to music and benefit from its mood-enhancing qualities, but in complex and mentally challenging jobs, employees would more likely be absorbed in their work and realize fewer of music's benefits.
How music affects
productivity
To examine the changes in productivity, each group's performance during the period stereos were used (the stereo period) was compared with its performance in the four weeks before headsets were introduced (the pre-stereo period). Each employee's weekly performance scores for the four weeks of the pre-stereo period were averaged, as were the scores for the four weeks of the stereo period. Then the differences between these two average scores were calculated for each employee and transformed to percentage changes in productivity for the four-week stereo period for comparison with productivity for the pre-stereo period.
For example, if an employee's average performance score changed from 100 units for the pre-stereo period to 112 units for the stereo period, this would represent a 12, percent performance increase. These percentage changes were then averaged for employees in each group.
There was a 6.3 percent difference in productivity increases between the Stereo and Control groups, which can be attributed to the use of headsets in the office. Productivity increased dramatically for employees using stereos at work — about a 10.2 percent jump compared with rates before stereos were used. However, productivity for the Control group increased only 3.9 percent.
The findings were also analyzed for employees working on simple, low-skill jobs such as document filming and data entry, versus those working on relatively complex jobs such as insurance processing and account analysis. These findings were even more striking. The productivity of individuals using headsets and working on simple jobs increased 14 percent compared with their productivity before stereos were introduced. However, the productivity of stereo listeners working on complex jobs increased only 6.3 percent compared with pre-stereo levels. Productivity increases for members of the control group working on both simple and complex jobs were small — 4.1 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
Finally, changes in the survey measures for the Stereo and Control groups during the study period were compared. For example, the number of distractions experienced by members of the Stereo group decreased after stereo use began, while members of the Control group showed no change in the number of distractions. Employees in the Control group also showed few changes in mood states. In fact, the only noticeable change was that they became more fatigued during the four weeks that stereos were present.
However, the moods of Stereo group members improved substantially after headset use began. These employees became less nervous and fatigued and more enthusiastic and relaxed. Additional statistical analyses indicated that the change in relaxation, not the other moods or distractions, accounted for the improvements in productivity for members of the Stereo group.
Music in your
workplace?
This research indicates that music provided by stereo headsets can be an effective strategy for boosting productivity, particularly for employees in relatively simple, routine jobs. Certainly, other interventions might be used to enhance employee productivity, but few are easier to implement and less costly (about $6.00 per headset) than personal stereo headsets.
There are a few limitations and uncertainties concerning the use of headsets. First, in comparison to background music systems, headsets are only a limited change strategy. While everyone hears background music, only those who choose to use headsets are exposed to music and are likely to respond to it. This limited strategy has one obvious advantage — those who find music annoying are not required to listen to it. On the other hand, this strategy does not address the productivity rates of individuals who choose not to use headsets. It may be necessary to consider alternative change strategies for these employees.
The study also provides few answers about the effects of non-music programming. All of the employees in the Stereo group completed daily logs indicating the type of programming they listened to most. These logs showed that headset users listened only to music and there were no differences in productivity for employees listening to different music types. However, users of headsets could potentially listen to any type of programming offered, from sports to talk to news. No one can say what percentage of employees in other settings would choose to listen to non-music programming or what effects such programming would have on productivity. This area needs further study.
Finally, although headset use is likely to enhance productivity, the potential problems and dangers associated with headsets should be explored before they are introduced into any workplace. For example, headset users may have difficulty hearing alarms, verbal warnings or instructions, and those who listen to music at high levels may experience permanent hearing loss — something employers do not want to be held liable for.
Guidelines need to be developed and implemented before headsets are permitted in any organization. But if careful guidelines are introduced and followed, stereo headsets may be considered both a safe and an effective strategy for boosting productivity in the workplace.
Greg R. Oldham is C. Clinton Spivey Professor of Business Administration and professor of labor and industrial relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
Anne Cummings, Leann J. Mischel and James M. Schmidtke are doctoral students in the Department of Business Administration at UIUC.
Jing Zhou is a doctoral student in the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at UIUC.
COPYRIGHT 1996 Society for Human Resource Management
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
