MUSIC AT WORK
“Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything.” Plato
What makes a workplace happier than another? What is the secret to having happy, fulfilled, productive employees? To find the answers, I believe that the company must let go of control, suspend judgment, and tap into the creativity, innovation, and intuition in the inner music of each individual employee.
Everyone is Unique
Many companies have a hard time letting go of the control of the rules learned in management school. It’s easier to manage if one follows a set of one-size-fits-all rules, molding a person to fit a job description, rather than allowing that person’s unique potential to unfold in the job. Traditional ways of considering employees, merely by job title or employee ID number, no longer work. It’s time to look at employees as individuals and value them for their unique talents and abilities.
Beethoven
Beethoven once said, “Music is the mediator between the life of the senses and the life of the spirit.” Music can be a wonderful, uplifting, and energizing experience to explore and enjoy at work. We can learn something from all kinds of music – ballads, ballet, blues, rock, classical, choral, country, comedy, dance, music, jazz, New Age, opera, pop, reggae, and international music of all kinds.
Beauty of Music
When I was young, my father played a wide variety of music in his office – different music for different parts of the day. He started with classical music in the morning, proceeded with jazz and blues at midday, and ended with some quiet music in the early evening. My father was receptive to any type of music and he loved to dance. His taste for music was very eclectic and diversified from love songs to rock. There is no doubt in my mind that exposing me to a wide variety of sounds at a young and tender age inculcated in me a deep appreciation for the beauty of music.
Potpourri of Experiences
My father’s colleagues and co-workers remember him to this day for being a proponent of music at work. He believed that one fundamental common denominator cuts across cultures, nationalities, races, and beliefs and that is music. Regardless of personality types, learning styles, orientation, strengths or weaknesses, music transcends all differences. Having music at work inspires everyone to be more productive, efficient, and effective.
According to Dianne Loomans, music offers a potpourri of experiences to everyone. Here are a few of them:
- Music is a wonderful way to evoke self-expression.
- Musical expression stirs the imagination and helps generate new ideas.
- Music helps release energy.
- Music nourishes and soothes the emotions.
- Music can heal, energize, and balance people.
Heart at Work
My father was right in giving importance to music not only at home but at work as well for it nourishes the heart, mind, and soul in various ways. It has the power to lift one’s habitual day-to-day life and inspires everyone to be more useful. It makes the spirit soar and broadens one’s perspective in life and at work. Music can be the heart at work.
Quoting Luci Swindoll, “We need to stop looking at work as simply a means of earning a living and start realizing it is one of the elemental ingredients of making a life.”
Do you love music more than anything else? We got recommendations for you that will rock and roll not just your home but your whole world!
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