What’s the best music to boost WFH productivity?

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Music can be an inspiration when we’ve got to get work done. Legendary American author Charles Bukowksi famously listened to classical music while composing his low-brow literary masterpieces.

But what’s the best soundtrack when working from home?

According to a just-published British study of 2000 respondents by Sodexo Engage, rock band Queen topped the list, followed by Ed Sheeran.

Other musicians ranked in the top 10 for productivity included Pink, Abba, Adele and Coldplay (although some in the Human Resources Hong Kong team confessed that the latter would actually put them to sleep).

Other notable artists that featured lower down in the list included Eminem (hip hop), Beethoven (classical) and Oasis (Britpop).

In terms of preferred musical genres, pop consistently the highest (58%) – regardless if the work-from-home task being performed was writing, admin or reading – followed by rock (47%), dance music (42%), country (20%) and jazz (12%).

“Given the variety of music artists that made the top ten recommendations, it goes to show that getting your working surroundings right is so important in ensuring your employees can work happily and feel positive about the task they’re undertaking,” Emma Yearwood, HR director at Sodexo Engage told HR Grapevine.

“Between pop and rock music, it was a close call, but with pop being a style of music that resonates with different professions, the results prove just how popular it is in the workplace,” she added.

Also read: HR’s all-time favourite WFH music playlist revealed

The benefits of music are backed up by research. A 2020 study by Scala Radio in conjunction with psychologist Becky Spearman revealed that listening to music while working actually boosts performance by up to 15%.

Now, how about a little We are the champions?