Interesting little piece in today’s Independent wondering if we’re about to become a nation of headphone-workers, keeping out the noises of the open-plan office with finely tuned Spotify playlists:
The headphones phenomenon is generally frowned upon in the white- collar professions for which you have to wear a suit to work every day, but it’s prevalent in the “creative” and media industries. And in dotcom country, people are particularly reluctant to interrupt a colleague’s playlist, says Andres Sehr of Spotify. In the company’s Stockholm office of approximately 65 people, most spend their days plugged into the music streaming service.
Well yes. I guess if the Spotify team didn’t listen to Spotify, who would?
In the pursuit of balance, the Indy quote a chap called Peter York, a.k.a Chief of the Fun Police:
“Many workers in the so-called ‘creative’ industries privatise themselves by listening to an iPod and staring at a Mac screen, thinking they’re modern,” he says. “When dotcom started in ‘98, ‘99, you went to those offices and people had mountain bikes in the hall. We should ban headphones, ‘creative’ interiors, and mountain bikes.”
Mountain bikes! Good heavens!
One Comment
I use the headphone/spotify combo everyday and feel much more productive. I am a software developer stuck in a half-open cubicle in an office of Attorneys and Social Workers who are ALWAYS chatting with each other or on the phone.