Wearing headphones at work

When visiting other institutes, I frequently see scientists wearing headphones ( I only use my Bose headphones to make noise – only yesterday I couldn’t resist t download the free Goldberg variations from Kickstarter ). entertainment.slashdot.org now details what I already feared

In survey after survey, office workers report with confidence that music makes us happier, better at concentrating, and more productive. But science says we’re full of it, writes Thompson. ‘Listening to music hurts our ability to recall other stimuli, and any pop song — loud or soft — reduces overall performance for both extroverts and introverts.’ So if headphones are so bad for productivity, why do so many people at work have headphones? The answer is that personal music creates a shield both for listeners and for those walking around usm says Thompson. ‘I am here, but I am separate. In a wreck of people and activity, two plastic pieces connected by a wire create an aura of privacy.’ We assume that people wearing them are busy or oblivious, so now people wear them to appear busy or oblivious — even without music. Wearing soundless headphones is now a common solution to productivity blocks.

More morking hacks at blog.hubspot.com, yea, yea.