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Homero Trevino

Dr. Kevin Lindberg

English 1302

2/15/22

Jamming while Working

Music is something that many people listen to daily, with many different types of genres

that have a different effect on us. Where pop music makes us happy while listening to breakup

songs will make us feel sorrow. Teresa Lesiuk, an associate professor of music education and

music therapy says, “People have positive experiences when listening to whatever kind of music

they prefer and listening to that music often produces mild positive moods.”. Listening to music

while at work can provide a more positive and make people working determined to work, while

no music can have a negative side effect on the worker.

Evidently, music is some people's escape from reality and even from work. While

listening to different types of music while employed each has a different effect on how people

will act when working. While performing at a place that does not allow their workers to listen to

music has made them more focused on working but have little to no motivation at all. Working

at a fast-food which is always hectic and chaotic and having no music to listen to can have some

negative side effects. It can make workers less determined to go into work, make them act out

because of all the pressure, or even make them stressed and cause them to quit work. One’s

experience in working at Whataburger and always being in a constant rush with no music

affected the entire mood of the shift. Being not motivated and having full attention to work

drained their ambition and perseverance. “Music may also serve as an anxiolytic treatment, that

is, an anxiety preventative or anxiety-reducing measure.” Says Lesiuk. In a study done by

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Ringgold “Music can help mitigate these effects and help keep stress and anxiety in check.”. It

has been tested that music can boost chemicals into the brain to lighten up the day and make

people feel better. It can also make people more focused on the present rather than the past or the

future. When jamming out or dancing to music can relieve the stress that work is placing on

people. If managers have their employees listening to their music while at work can make the

work environment more positive. To have a good work environment to boost morale, there need

to be workers who need a positive attitude coming into work. Some managers might have their

music playing in the store but, “Further, individuals value their own or ‘preferred music’ when

considering the music that best relaxes them.” Says Lesiuk. The managers relaxing music might

make the workers become less focused and make them slow down at work. Their own personal

music can give the worker a sense of familiarity and have a positive effect on them to make them

focused on working to their best potential. “Familiarity with the music and discontinuous

presentation was suggested as most effective in improving performance, turnover intentions,

organizational satisfaction, and mood states.” Lesiuk says. With music each genre has its effect

on people, with pop songs can make people happy and more determined, while others might

have a negative reaction to it. The way people choose their music to fit their liking can make

them determine when doing anything.

Contrary to this, listening to our music tends to brighten up our day. If one’s managers let

their employees listen to the music of their chosen will make them more efficient. When working

at a restaurant can be more hectic than a fast-food job and listening to personal music will make

people more determined to work harder. Like Lesiuk and Ringgold said other people’s music

might have a different effect on others, but our personal music makes people joyful. “An

analysis of listening habits such as music type selection, duration of listening, and shifting from
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one music type to another revealed little relation to outcomes such as employees’ moods and

productivity, job satisfaction and turnover intentions.” Says Lesiuk. it has been studied that

worker who listens to their music makes the work environment more positive and outgoing. With

a good atmosphere at work decreases people's stress and releases serotonin to make the workers

more likely to stay in that job. “Listening to music can help combat some of that loneliness-

induced anxiety,” Ringgold says. If employers let their workers listen to their own music will

more likely keep them working, there and have a positive effect on their mental health overall. A

work life can have major side effects if the work environment does not promote morale. If

people are becoming depressed or do not have the will to go to work, they will associate the

work environment with something negative. When people want to avoid a negative atmosphere,

they will quit their job and cause the workplace to become understaffed. Music is a form of

expression to many people, with everyone having their own taste in music. Every genre has its

own effect on different types of people, with music being a universal language that many people

can relate to by just listening to the melody of the song. Music has been around for thousands of

years and has evolved a long way since then. From the early cavemen to Cardi B, now has a

variety of different genres. With music now has a positive effect on people's mental health and

helps them in the darkest times in their life.

Music has come a long way since cavemen invented it. Music is something that many

people listen to every day, and so many different genres make us feel a different types of

emotions. Country music makes us bust a move while listening to a Spanish song will make us

feel emotional. While working, listening to music can put people in a more outgoing mood and

make them more motivated to stay working at their job. If there is a negative environment it will
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make the workers less likely to go to work and maybe find a new and better job that will

accommodate them.
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References:

Benson, Thor. “You Listen to Music At Work, and It Alters Your Mind. Yes, Seriously.”

Futurism. April 9, 2018. https://futurism.com/affiliate-listening-music-work-alters-mind

Ferraro, Kathleen. “7 Ways Music Can Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety.” ASCAP.

September 10, 2021. https://www.ascap.com/help/wellness/7-ways-music-reduces-stress-anxiety

Lesiuk, Teresa. “The Effect of Music Listening on Work Performance.” Psychology of

Music, vol. 33, no. 2, 2005, pp. 173–191., doi:10.1177/0305735605050650.