IPods and Gen Y... Set Music Free in the Workforce!

“Whistle while you work.” Enter Walt Disney’s Snow White. She sings this song while diligently sweeping the dust from the floor.

It's official. Adults have many mundane and undesirable responsibilities. However this does not mean a person can not enjoy the tasks at hand. Studies have actually shown that music enhances job performance.

Bursting out into song was Snow White’s only remedy for curbing her boredom and raising her spirits.

Such is not the case for Generation Y. Ours is the age of the IPOD. Many companies continue to look down upon this phenomenon. They do not understand that an IPOD is considered a part of your person. For Generation Y music and daily life go hand in hand.

Consider this, the state of being human means living daily on a mood to mood basis. It would make sense to me that a happy and energized person will effectively get more done, then their tired and irritated counterpart.

Certain music possesses the ability to wake up the body and mind. With that being said music can act as a healthy substitute for that daily cup of coffee or caffeine induced drink of choice. Music also serves as a socializing deterrent. Sitting at ones desk with headphones and an IPOD helps the focus stay on what is in front rather then possible side conversations happening around the office.

Music is an integral part of any day. And most of the population including the ‘older generations’ incorporate it in some shape or form, whether it be listening to the radio on the way home, in the background of some TV show or movie, or even while working out. It should come as no surprise that music can and does enhance ones job.

So what is hold up? Why do many Companies ban our lifeblood of music? A little bird told me that older generations are ‘set’ in their ways. They have a terribly hard time with accepting our youthful nature and our want to change the status quo, I believe for the better.

And instead of having an open-ended company conversation about the pros and cons of incorporating what we as Gen Y hold important most Bosses make a fairly closed minded decision that can badly hurt company morale. They site reasons such as music is distracting to productivity, headphones are annoying while trying to get someone’s attention, and an employee might miss a phone call due to not hearing the ring. All of these reasons are valid and have probably occurred at some point, but 9 times out of 10 it is the person not the IPOD.

Generation Y has grown up with IPOD’s on our hips. We are very aware of our surroundings and surely are not going to ignore someone trying to grab our attention, especially if it is a boss.

So why punish the IPOD? What does the IPOD do besides provide music to better moods and stimulate a better work environment? It’s about time the professional workforce heeds this ever-so-important memo!