MUSIC TO CHECK YOUR EMAILS TO辦公室音樂
Culture building or cringeworthy? The debate around music in the workplace. By TIM PRITCHARD
在辦公室聽音樂到底是件雅事，還是打擾別人工作呢？撰文： Tim Pritchard
MY MORNING ROUTINE involves making a coffee, putting on my headphones and popping the Stones on before trawling through emails and scheduling my tasks for the day.
And whether or not you’re a fan of The Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction, a 2016 study by Cornell University suggests that music – especially songs like this with a tempo around 135 beats per minute – can stimulate tired minds and even boost productivity.
We all have a pumped-up playlist to supercharge our workouts, so why can’t we upgrade our work lives with the right soundtrack? Game Plan, a weekly podcast hosted by Bloomberg reporter Rebecca Greenfield and editor Francesca Levy, investigates the pros and cons by speaking to people in retail, open-plan offices and even hospital operating theatres to examine how different music can affect our mood and productivity. (And in the case of patients, even calm them in the operating room or help with post-operative pain.)
Some companies believe a soundtrack can also help build a good corporate culture in the office. But not everyone’s going to agree (Craig David remains the most divisive artist at Discovery HQ), which can make it difficult to settle on what plays on the office speaker.
Fast-paced music is better for keeping people alert while, unsurprisingly, ambient music (Brian Eno’s Music for Airports anyone?) and classical music (try Debussy’s Sonatas and Trio – available onboard) create a more relaxing atmosphere (passengers might note that these benefits also apply to the cabin). And while Mick Jagger’s cocky squawk can help to power through the morning’s more mundane tasks, it’s sometimes distracting for tasks requiring more focus. ( Top tip: this writer also uses a rain sounds app to concentrate.)
One thing I hope we can all agree on: carols blaring out of tinny computer speakers at Christmas is a sure sign that some music should be reserved for headphones.
我每天早上回到辦公室，都會首先沖一杯咖啡，然後戴上耳筒，播放一些滾石樂隊的歌，再查閱電郵和計劃當天要做的事。
無論你是否喜歡滾石樂隊的〈Satisfaction〉，康乃爾大學於2016 年進行的一項研究顯示，音樂（特別是那些節奏每分鐘約135拍的歌曲）可以刺激疲倦的腦袋，甚至提高生產力。
我們在做運動時總會聽一些節奏激昂的音樂，為自己打氣；因此，我們何不在辦公室也選聽一些合適的音樂，令工作生活有所提升？由彭博的記者 Rebecca Greenfield 及編輯 Francesca Levy 主持的每周一集播客節目《Game Plan》，探討在工作時聽音樂的好處和缺點，訪問各行各業與不同工作環境的人士，例如零售店、開放式辦公室甚至醫院的手術室內，不同的音樂如何影響我們的情緒和生產力。（對病人來說，音樂可以令他們在手術室內感到平，或減輕手術後的痛楚。）
有些公司認為，音樂有助在辦公室內建立良好的公司文化。不過各人的音樂口味不同，到底公司要選播哪些音樂，並不容易決定；例如在《Discovery》的大本營內，各同事對 Craig David的歌曲就有極大的分歧。
節奏急速的音樂有利於讓人保持清醒，至於柔和的氛圍音樂（例如 Brian Eno的《Music for Airports》）與古典音樂（例如機上播放 Debussy 的《Sonatas and Trio》）自然營造出輕鬆寫意的氣氛（乘客可能亦留意到，這些好處亦同樣適用於機 艙內）。雖然早上進行一些較沉悶單調的工作時， Mick Jagger 的咆哮歌聲有助你提起精神，不過如果做的是一些需要較專注的工作時，則可能令人分心。筆者集中精神的秘訣是使用一個播放下雨聲的應用程式。
最後，有一點相信大家都沒有異議的：就是悠揚悅耳的聖誕頌歌實在不宜以電腦的小型擴音器播放，還是戴上耳筒聽好了。