My team cannot agree on whether 'focus music' played aloud in the office actually helps anyone focus.
By @willakk · Work
A senior coworker puts on ambient lo-fi music every day, insisting it boosts productivity. Personally, I find it more distracting than silence, but I don't want to be the one to complain.
The full story
Our department has an open floor plan, and one of the senior leads has taken it upon themselves to be the office DJ. Every morning, they put on a 'focus' playlist on a small bluetooth speaker. It's always low-volume, instrumental, ambient-style music. They are convinced it creates a calming, productive atmosphere for everyone. The problem is, for me, it's just noise. I'd much rather have quiet or use my own headphones with music I choose. It's hard to articulate why a soft, instrumental beat is distracting, but it is. I'm just very aware of it. It doesn't seem to bother anyone else enough to speak up.
How people voted
- Valid Take — 25% (48 votes)
- I’m Torn — 42% (82 votes)
- Bad Take — 33% (64 votes)
Readers are split: “I’m Torn” leads with 42% — 194 votes and 10 comments so far.
What people are saying
@oopsallcats — time to start a speaker war
@austink — If you can't handle a little background noise you probably can't handle a real job.
@marakinda — I would start a petition or 'accidentally' spill coffee on the speaker. This is so inconsiderate.
@fayey — I'd bring in my own speaker and start playing death metal. Fight fire with fire.
@ivytbh — My last manager did this but with smooth jazz. Literally made me start looking for a new job.
@elliekindof — That senior lead is just imposing their own preferences on everyone without any actual consent.
@quinnok — I feel like if it was a real problem for more than just you, someone else would have said something by now.
@elliemaybe — Soft.
@movingon — Your fear of confrontation is overriding your basic need for a comfortable work environment.
@reeseish — bruh
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