Background Music Strategy
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Should You Play Music in the Office? 5 Benefits of Using Background Music for Offices
by SiriusXM Music for Business

Are you thinking about playing music in the office, but you’re unsure how your employees will respond? Science is on your side with several benefits attributed to background music for offices.

This article will look at various types of office music, along with benefits like:
Top 5 Benefits of Background Music for Offices
Listening to music in the office can make a real difference in your employees’ day. Good office music can be a boon in nearly any work environment. With the right approach, music in the workplace delivers significant advantages. The top benefits include:
1. Drowning Out Distractions
Offices are full of all sorts of sounds — buzzing overhead lights, clanking photocopiers, noisy coworkers. These can cause considerable distraction, especially when employees can’t leave their desks and need to concentrate on their work.
Played at an appropriate volume, office music can mask background noises, removing the distractions that keep your employees from completing their tasks.
2. Boosting Employees’ Mood
Everybody has an off day once in a while, whether because of stressors at work or home. Regardless of the cause, one bad attitude can affect your entire workforce. Music in the office can change that, improving the mood of employees and their ability to concentrate on work and remain productive. Music enhances a person’s mood by releasing the dopamine hormone, creating a sense of pleasure. Happier employees ensure a calmer, more productive workplace.
3. Increasing Motivation
Keeping employees motivated is a never-ending task, but workplace music can help. Because music engages the body’s sympathetic system, it helps prepare the body to take action in the face of a challenge. Music in the office can help keep employees alert and ready to tackle whatever comes next.

4. Improving Productivity
Greater productivity is a goal for any workplace. Several studies have found a direct link between music and productivity. One study showed that listening to music improved people’s ability to recognize numerals, allowing them to work more quickly. Other research noted that listening to music boosted creativity and productivity in several groups of software designers. Office music can likewise help keep your employees productive throughout the day.
5. Reducing Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety directly affect a person’s ability to work, hurting their motivation and productivity. Music in the office can provide a one-two punch, combatting both feelings. We’ve already discussed music’s ability to release dopamine and increase a sense of pleasure. But it also reduces the levels of cortisol in the body, helping to relieve feelings of stress. Employees who don’t have to combat stress and anxiety can be much more productive.
Get Your Office Music From SiriusXM Music for Business
You’re sure to find the office music you want at SiriusXM Music for Business. We offer over 240 channels and 10,000+ Pandora artist stations so you can find the best workplace music for your employees. Our playlists are a vast improvement over the typical office radio, with its DJs and various disruptions. Our expert staff members can help you create the perfect office background music system for your workplace environment. We offer customizable solutions that fit your needs.
Contact us today to learn more.

Factors That Affect Background Music for Offices
Background music for offices can provide many benefits, but it has to be handled properly. Consider these factors as you select music for your office:
- Affinity: Likable, joyful music can make time feel like it’s passing by quicker, helping employees get more done during the day.
- Tempo: A faster tempo can promote feelings of excitement, happiness, liveliness and delight, all of which boost the mood of employees.
- Lyrics: Music with words has been found to distract people when reading and writing. Instrumental music may be the better choice if you want your employees to keep their focus.
- Volume: Loud music interferes with reading comprehension, so you’ll want to be careful of the volume you select for your office music.
The Best Types of Music in the Office
When you’re ready to play music in the office, you want to make the best selections for your workplace. You should consider:
- Classical music: Some studies point to the so-called Mozart effect — a temporary improvement in the spatial reasoning skills of people who’ve listened to music by Mozart. Regardless of the validity of the effect, classical music hits all the right notes for appropriate workplace music.
- Different instrumental tracks: Electronic dance music and piano selections are other good examples of music that can be appropriate for offices since they offer a variety of rhythms and tempos.

Trust Your Office Music Needs to SiriusXM Music for Business
Now that you know more about playing music in the office, you’re ready to select the right music for your workplace. With 240+ channels and more than 10,000 Pandora artist stations, we have the most comprehensive collection to meet your needs. We also offer advanced options like scheduling and channel blocking to give you complete control over your selections, all for just $26.95 a month. Contact us today to find the best background music for your office.