Have you ever dined in a restaurant with no background music? The other diners may have sounded especially loud and noises from the kitchen ruined the ambiance. The lack of background music may even have seemed disturbing and affected the overall customer experience.

That’s right, music has a way more significant impact on the atmosphere than you could imagine. Even when we are not aware of it, the sounds affect us subliminally.

Carefully chosen soundscape not only creates the right kind of mood, but also hides unwanted sounds.

Music increases employees’ enjoyment

Maintaining focus is a challenge especially in open-plan offices.  Work is constantly interrupted by co-worker’s conversations, phone calls and video conferences. Even when we are not consciously listening to the sounds, constant noise has an impact on our ability to concentrate.

According to studies, speech is particularly distracting and can reduce work efficiency by up to 41%. When working with tasks that require intense focus, the decisive factor is speech intelligibility. In other words, intensity of the voice is not crucial but rather how clearly it stands out from the background. This can be affected by both acoustics and sound masking.

In a too quiet space, the speech can be heard from far away. Properly chosen background music dampens other sounds, creates a peaceful atmosphere and lets us focus on the work.  At the same time, music affects the mood and can even improve the general atmosphere at the workplace.

Choose music that fits your brand

Soundscape is as integral part of the company’s brand as visual look or great customer service. Sounds leave a long-lasting memory and for example jingles are recognized even many years later.

Above all, background music should fit the space and support your brand. Research has shown that people react more strongly to the music they recognize. In the open-plan office, music is best used as a cover sound that is hardly noticeable, such as quietly playing instrumental music.

Integrating music with digital signage

The most effective way is to combine background music with your digital signage. This way you can control both background music and content of your displays at the same time. The right music can help bring the content on the displays to life.

Using sounds can also be goal-oriented. Try how music affects people in different situations. Schedule and automate playlists and use different genres of music at different times of the day.

If you are interested in background music, read more about our license-free background music service. On the page you can also listen to demos for different industries.

Source: Annu Haapakangas, Valtteri Hongisto & Eveliina Kankkunen: Viiden peiteäänen vertailu toimistolaboratoriossa – vaikutukset keskittymiskykyyn ja akustiseen tyytyväisyyteen.