Study: Music Helps Workers Perform Better

Dr. David Lewis

Nine out of 10 workers perform better when listening to music, according to a new study that found 88 percent of participants produced their most accurate test results and 81 percent completed their fastest work when music was playing.

“The take-home message is that music is a very powerful management tool if you want to increase not only the efficiency of your workforce but also their mental state, their emotional state - they’re going to become more positive about the work,” said Dr David Lewis, a neuropsychologist and chairman of Mindlab International, the company that conducted the research.

The Telegraph reports that for the experiment, 26 participants were given a series of different tasks five days in a row - including spell-checking, equation solving, mathematical word problems, data entry and abstract reasoning. The workers completed these tasks while listening to one of four music genres or no music at all, to see which had the greater effect on accuracy and speed of correct responses.

• Classical music: if your work involves numbers or attention to detail
• Pop music: if your work involves data entry or working to deadlines
• Ambient music: if your work involves solving equations
• Dance music: if your work involves proof-reading and problem solving