Music at work?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that some organisations allow their employees to listen to music at work, whereas others do not.  This highlights the existence of different beliefs about the role and appropriateness of music in workplaces today.

Commercial music suppliers specifically target listeners in workplaces, partly as providers of entertainment, but also as providers of "solutions" to perceived "problems" in the workplace.  Typically, these suppliers promote music (commonly classical music) as an antidote to stress in the office.

Listening practices in daily life have been influenced by advances in technology, and employees can today access chosen music at work through desktop CD players, stand-alone CD-players, radios, mp3-players, and Internet.  This means that employees now have more opportunities to listen to self-selected music in offices than ever before.

It appears, from previous research, that people are listening to music at work and that music listening can effect relaxation, concentration and aid affect management.  However, it is not clear how music listening is integrated into offices, nor how it is experienced by listeners.