Elucidating the relationship between work attention performance and emotions arising from listening to music.

BACKGROUND: In addition to demonstrating that human emotions improve work attention performance, numerous studies have also established that music alters human emotions. Given the pervasiveness of background music in the workplace, exactly how work attention, emotions and music listening are related is of priority concern in human resource management. OBJECTIVES: This preliminary study investigates the relationship between work attention performance and emotions arising from listening to music. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty one males and 34 females, ranging from 20-24 years old, participated in this study following written informed consent. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was performed in this study, which consisted of six steps and the use of the standard attention test and emotion questionnaire. RESULTS: Background music with lyrics adversely impacts attention performance more than that without lyrics. Analysis results also indicate that listeners self-reported feeling "loved" while music played that implied a higher score on their work-attention performance. Moreover, a greater ability of music to make listeners feel sad implied a lower score on their work-attention performance. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this preliminary study demonstrate that background music in the workplace should focus mainly on creating an environment in which listeners feel loved or taken care and avoiding music that causes individuals to feel stressed or sad. We recommend that future research increase the number of research participants to enhance the applicability and replicability of these findings.