Playing music in the office will absolutely elevate mood and increase productivity for you and your teammates.

In every clubhouse I’ve ever been in, loud music has been a part of the culture. From merengue to country, from rap to R & B, the atmosphere was perpetually soaked with the playlist of our athletes. There was consistent competition for who would choose the artists of that day; the conversation never failed to cause debate. The exercise alone was worthwhile because of how much we learned about the personalities of the athletes in the room, but that may not have been the most valuable reason for pumping music through our speakers.

As batting averages fluctuated throughout the years and stress levels rose, moods inevitably dropped. It may have been the presence of music bringing us back to even. From healthline.com:

Scientists at the University of Missouri have found that people can boost their mood simply by listening to upbeat music.

“Our work provides support for what many people already do—listen to music to improve their moods,” said lead author Yuna Ferguson

Yesterday, I found myself wondering why we wouldn’t take the same action in our office. I approached one of my rockstar colleagues.

“Juan, why don’t we get some music flowing through the office?”

Minutes later, (because that’s how Juan rolls) our team had an email thread going, and we were all weighing in with our favorite tunes. This morning, Duke Ellington permeated our space. Perhaps it was the coffee, but there was an immediate and palpable elevation in energy. Players were walking in and out smiling. From goodhousekeeping.com:

Listening to music has a powerful effect on people’s moods,” says Neal Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C. In one study, listening to music reduced stress-hormone levels up to 41 percent.

When we think about stress hormones, cortisol comes to mind first. Too much cortisol can suppress the immune system, elevate blood pressure and blood sugar, decrease libido, incubate acne, contribute to obesity and more. It makes perfect sense to make a small change with substantial upside (and no downside) like adding music to our work environment.

We won’t stop mentioning it here. Seek value at the margins. What may seem like meaningless adjustments can have major ripple effects and increase productivity, efficiency and effectiveness.

Strong mind,

Kap