Today is the international Fête de la Musique (Make Music Day), which means there are free concerts and music-related events happening all over the world.
Whether or not you listen to music at work is a very personal choice, and so is the music you choose if you do. Not everyone thinks it makes their work day better, but those who do may reap many benefits.
A Spherion study in 2005 found that almost a third of workers listened to music on personal devices at work (that number has probably grown quite a lot over the past decade), and that 79% of them thought it improved their job satisfaction and/or productivity. 55% said it improved both. Similarly, Anneli Haaki’s 2010 study about music at work found that listening to music at work tended to reduce stress, improve moods, and increase creativity and inspiration. This isn’t limited to classical or instrumental music, as we’re sometimes told: it works across genres.
Listening to music at work isn’t for everybody: for some people, it can be distracting and can make it harder to get things done. If you enjoy it, though, go for it! Today is a day for music, after all.