Around 13.5 million workers, mainly in service jobs, spend long hours exposed to background music designed for customers, not employees. A study by Ohio State University explores how mismatched background music affects workers’ mental states and behaviors, highlighting the impact of music choices on their daily work experience.
The study reveals that mismatched background music in workplaces can negatively impact employees’ energy, mood, and overall performance. When music fails to align with what workers need to stay energized, manage emotions, or concentrate, it can lead to fatigue, difficulty focusing, and dissatisfaction at work. This disconnect affects individual well-being and encourages behaviors that could harm the organization.
The issue of mismatched background music is particularly challenging for individuals who struggle to filter out environmental noise. To explore this, researchers conducted two studies involving 166 full-time workers participating online.
Before the experiment, participants assessed their needs regarding four music features: volume, speed, complexity, and emotional intensity. They then listened to one of two curated playlists while completing a creativity task, providing insights into how specific music attributes impact focus and performance.
One playlist was upbeat, happy pop music with moderate complexity. The other was slower, more somber music played at a lower volume.
After the task, participants rated how well the music matched their needs for volume, speed, complexity, and emotional intensity. The results showed that when the playlist didn’t align with their preferences, participants experienced reduced positive emotions and increased mental exhaustion.
Mismatched background music is particularly severe for individuals known as non-screeners, who struggle to focus on one sensory input at a time. Non-screeners can’t easily ignore music that doesn’t align with their needs, leading to reduced positive emotions and increased mental exhaustion.
The negative effects of music misfit are worse for non-screeners. They feel more depleted and less positive when exposed to music that is out of sync with their needs.
In a second study, researchers examined 68 workers from healthcare offices, retail stores, and dining halls, where background music is a daily feature. Over three weeks, participants completed three daily email surveys about their musical needs, the music they experienced, their moods, mental fatigue, and workplace behavior.
The second study reinforced the earlier findings and revealed another dimension: music misfits negatively affect job performance. On days when workers felt the background music didn’t align with their needs, they were more likely to engage in harmful behaviors, such as working sluggishly, speaking poorly about the workplace, or even taking office supplies. At the same time, they were less inclined to perform positive actions, like helping colleagues with tasks beyond their responsibilities.
Mismatched background music impacts employee well—being and can directly harm a company’s bottom line. When workers are distracted or drained by unsuitable music, their productivity drops and their overall performance suffers.
The findings emphasize the importance of employers considering their employees’ musical preferences.
Employers should balance background music to suit customers and employees, as employee dissatisfaction can harm the business. They can create spaces where workers can escape the music during breaks or provide smart earbuds that block noise while allowing conversations with customers and employees to listen to their own music when appropriate, which may boost productivity, engagement, and well-being, despite some managers’ concerns.
Journal Reference:
- Keeler, K. R., Puranik, H., Wang, Y., & Yin, J. (2025). In sync or out of tune? The effects of workplace music misfit on employees. Journal of Applied Psychology. DOI: 10.1037/apl0001278
Source: Tech Explorist
