A Study on Music Listening Practices in workplaces: Office Vs Graduate Student Environment

1. A Study on Music Listening Practices in workplaces: Office Vs Graduate Student Environment Project Critique:1 Divya K Nair, Mahsa Emamitaba

2. Outline • Objective • Research Questions • Existing works • Hypothesis • Proposed Approach for the study - Qualitative part - Quantitative part • Issues & Suggestions • A snapshot of intended interview questions

3. Objective We intend to study the music listening practices in workplaces: Office Vs Grad student environments and explores: - How, Where and how often people listen to music at workplaces and what activities they carry out concurrently -The impact of music listening in workplaces and how music affects productivity - Various music technologies adopted by participants and the variance in music listening behaviors among office employees and graduate students. The potential benefits include understanding of : 1. How music affects productivity 2. What medium of music listening serves the best in work grounds, from a technical perspective 3. Can social interactions be enhanced by music listening through practice like sharing , talking etc.

4. Projected Research Questions • What are the music listening practices in workplaces? • How does music listening help to improve the well-being and work performance of people in a workplace environment? • Does the discussion of music and music listening itself, have any impacts on social interactions in work environment? • Does listening to music produce different impacts in different work environments, like, in a grad student Vs office environments (different divisions like management, technical) • What are the various music listening technologies incorporated in workplaces and design implications for making the workplace listening easier.

5. Related Works • Teresa Lesiuk. The effect of music listening on work performance , 2005 • Beronius Haake, A. Individual music listening in workplace settings: An exploratory survey of offices in the UK , 2008 • Spherion Survey: Workers Say Listening to Music While Working Improves Job Satisfaction, Productivity, 2005 • Amy Voida et.al. Listening In: Practices Surrounding iTunes Music SharingCHI 2005 • Barry Brown et.al. Music Sharng as a Computer Supported Collaborative Application

6. Propositions P1: The most common activities/least preferred activities performed concurrently P2: Differences in locations/environments while listening to music P3: Frequency of using different music devices while working P4: Preferred Listening styles (sonic qualities preferred) for different types of music P5: Music Listening enhances work performance, regulating mood quality P6: Impression management at grad environment Vs office environment P7: Does it improves social interaction and expand personal music experiences P8: Controlling the environment (using headphones to appear engaged, avoid distractions etc.) P9: Motivations for self – selected music Vs open means (radio) P10: Habit of repeated listening for preferred songs and interest in purchasing songs so as to listen to them while working P11: Demographical differences like gender, age etc.

7. Proposed Approach for the study 6 participants in grad environment (5 grad students, 1 grad employee) & 6 participants from office environment (3 from each different division) All participants listen to music while working • Qualitative: Semi structured interviews(30-45 mts) & later interviews after the diary study Quantitative: Diary study & Post Questionnaire • The statistical results will correspond to Likert scale from 1-never to 5-always Current status: Interviewed 3 grad students and 2 office employees and audio recorded the conversations

8. Issues & Suggestions • Any other propositions to look forward to? • Any other quantitative data collection methods? • Are the results statistically relevant in a pool of 6-6 participants? • Any other useful metric to be considered?

9. A snapshot of intended interview questions • Since when did u start using listening to music while working? Can you specify your age and education at the time? • What is the current status, highest degree of education (student or working) • How often do you listen to music in a day, can you recall an approximate number of times you listened the last day and how long? • Can you walk me through some of the situations when you decide to listen to music at work (concurrent engagements)? • What situations you avoid listening to music? • In what other situation than working you like to listen to music? • Does the loud volume of your colleague’s music bother you? • Do you feel close to people who would like to listen to music while working? • Do you feel comfortable (privacy) amidst of your colleagues when you listen to music • Do you think it is useful to reduce your stress? • Do you think it makes you sleepier or fresher? • What time of the day mostly you like to listen? At which days mostly • What kind of music you usually listen? • In what situations you stop your music? Would you please walk me through the last time? • Do you prefer to create an impression to others by listening to music as well as when you try to select music genre in front of others? • Do you prefer to listen to self selected songs or non-selective music means like radio (just having music is enough) , if so what is your music preference (channel, music type) • How often a day you listen to music while working? For how long each time? • How many music file you have in your folder? • What device you use in order to listening to music? • Do you prefer to use head set or speaker? Why? • You prefer loud or low volume? • Do you like to share your music with your colleagues? • Do you like to listen to random files or repeat a special album or song? • Does listening to music cost you? If so, how much? • Are the songs that you listen while working different than the songs that you listen in other situations?