Music and Work

I recently wrote a review about a restaurant whose music unintentionally sped in rhythm when there was more customers. I think this is a good idea, as a faster rhythm could help give andreline and passion to the workers, while a slower rhythm could help relax to the worker and improve concentration. Imagine that the slower, ultra-cheese Chinese song playing in the background makes the staff member concentrate just a little more on your Mango Pudding, and you can romanticise my idea a little more. It would also help kitchen staff know when they're busy and give them the motivation they need to keep on top of things and maybe help moral if the music isn't actually all that bad. It could become stress relief.
But how does music actually affect workers?

Music and Work

I did a very small amount of research, and came across Marek Korczynski's 'Rhythmns of Labor: Music at Work in the British Isles' and 'Stayin' Alive on the Factory Floor: An ethnography of music used in the routinized workplace.' I wonder if he thinks of the names himself?

Marek Korcyznski argues that rhythm of labour reflects rhythm of music, and coordinates labour. According to his research and quotes from previous research, "music's role at work has changed under industrialisation." (DeNora 2000) Korczynski emphasises that popular music 'primarily operates as a tool for social control, creating "One-dimensional," passive, uncritical listeners."(Adorno 1941,76) and effectively, makes workers work harder with less resistance. The musical 'song' allows a voice that would usually be banned from normal discourse at work, and hence, essentially replaces this and thus, resistance. In the past, workers may have sung about their woes and this would be acceptable. Take a look at folk songs for example. Nowadays, the popular song has different themes, and there tends not to be a singalong during work because this is seen as negative by the employer. Korczynski suggests that singing gives workers power, and of course, from an employers view, they don't want that.

So the cheesy music you hear controls staff and efficiency levels. Workers discount the boredom of repetitive work, removing the threat of workers uniting and rebelling. Korczynski suggests that music helps "factory-goodwill" in Britian and helps the "Stayin' Alive culture." He also suggested when business was slow or there was no work to do, there was little engagement made with music.

While repetition may have its benefits in the eye of the employer, I believe this on the whole would lower the moral of the workers - and while it may encourage suppression, it would also discourage ambition and creativity. 
Music that reflects the pace of the situation in the restaurant could help reduce stress, help focus and coordination.
But for the good of everyone, it should be varied. In this economy, I think rebellion is a little less likely, and repetition may only reduce ambition, moral and effort.

-------

Notes:
Marek Korczynski is a Sociologist specialising in studying the workplace. He has written various works including Rhythms of Labor: Music at Work in the British Isles and Stayin' Alive on the Factory Floor: An ethnography of music used in the routinized workplace. You can find every sociologist/psychologist mentioned above in his work.