What Your Office Playlist Says About You

The first time I realized how much music shapes my workday, I was in a shared office space, trying to drown out the sounds of keyboards and a sales call happening two desks over. I put on my headphones, hit play on a lo-fi playlist, and before you know it, I was in my own world. Since then, I’ve paid attention to how different songs influence my mood, and productivity, and even how I collaborate with others. And let’s be honest, what you listen to at work says a lot about you, because in today’s open-plan workspaces, headphones have become as essential as laptops. 

With studies showing employees are only productive for 2.3 hours per day in open offices, finding your ideal sound environment is so important. Did you know that upbeat music can help increase motivation, while instrumental tracks allow you to focus more? On the other hand, loud or unpredictable music might make it harder to focus on complex tasks. Think about it, just as office design affects productivity, so does the acoustics of your workspace. Some people need a steady flow of music to stay motivated, while others want total silence. Regardless of which way you tend to sway, in general, office workers usually fall into one of four broad music-listening personalities. 

The Classical Listener

You’re a strategic thinker with colour-coded spreadsheets and impeccable time management. Just like you enjoy listening to Bach’s complex harmonies, you approach problem-solving in a similar methodical and thorough way. During meetings, you’re probably the one taking detailed notes and sending out follow-ups. Your colleagues admire your ability to maintain composure during chaotic deadlines. But, as much as you enjoy the company of your coworkers, even you need to escape the office noise to focus on that quarterly strategy deck.

If we were to match your music personality to one of our booths, we’d say you’re an Inbox One+ type of person.

Our Inbox One+ has the same footprint as a typical desk and chair workstation would. It is surprisingly spacious and gives you ample room to spread out your detailed plans while reducing outside noise by 26+ decibels. The ergonomic desk provides a great setup for your laptop while streaming Beethoven.

The Jazz Lover

If you love some jazz music at work, you are probably good at improvisation. When projects take unexpected turns, you’re pretty much unfazed, much like jazz musicians who thrive on spontaneity. You often need to collaborate with one teammate to riff on ideas without disrupting the entire floor. 

In meetings, you ask the questions no one else thinks of, connecting disparate ideas into great solutions. You’re comfortable with incomplete information and excel at making decisions in uncertain circumstances. Like your favourite jazz musicians who communicate through subtle musical cues, you read the room instinctively, knowing when to push an idea forward and when to step back.

Your Inbox Booth match would be our Inbox TWO. This soundproof meeting booth gives you and a colleague room to improvise solutions and solve those problems in a meaningful way. With two comfy stools and a floating desk, you can sketch out ideas while your playlist provides you with all the inspiration. 

The Pop Enthusiast

You’re probably the office connector who remembers everyone’s birthday and organizes the best happy hours. Your desk is colourful and probably has a few plants, and your calendar is packed with cross-departmental meetings. You’re perpetually juggling multiple projects while maintaining an upbeat attitude that keeps team morale high.

Like your playlist that shifts from Taylor Swift to The Weeknd, you’re adaptable and responsive to changing workplace dynamics. You’re the first to embrace new communication platforms and collaboration tools, making you indispensable during organizational transitions. Your energy is infectious, sometimes literally, as your unconscious desk drumming has been known to spread across neighboring workstations. 

You would love the Inbox TWO+. The TWO+ work pod gives you the extra legroom and space you need for impromptu mini-meetings that help your collaborative style. With room for coffee mugs and materials, you can have quick brainstorming sessions without booking a whole conference room. The sound reduction within the pods means your upbeat energy and occasional spontaneous singing won’t disrupt colleagues trying to focus.

The Folk/Country Soul

You’re an authentic relationship-builder with great emotional intelligence. Your desk probably has handwritten thank-you notes from grateful colleagues. You’re the company’s unofficial historian, remembering details from projects long past and maintaining connections with former team members who’ve moved on to new opportunities.

Your storytelling ability makes complex concepts accessible to everyone, from new employees to higher stakeholders. During challenging times, you’re the steadying presence who reminds the team of their shared purpose and values. Like the stories and narratives in your playlist, you understand that every workplace challenge contains a beginning, middle, and resolution, and you help others navigate that journey with patience and wisdom.

You’re the first to notice when a colleague is struggling and the last to leave when someone needs support. Your genuine approach to work relationships builds the kind of trust that transforms good teams into great ones.

The Inbox QUAD has your name on it. It’s the perfect setting for your small group mentoring sessions. Its 5 × 7 ft footprint accommodates the kind of small team gatherings where your storytelling and relationship-building skills shine. Plus, the sound insulation makes it a safe space for authentic conversations that build lasting workplace connections, while still offering the flexibility to reconfigure as a personal workspace when you need time to reflect. 

The Team Collaborator

Your playlist shifts based on the project. It is probably a carefully curated mix that reflects your adaptable nature, instrumental tracks for deep thinking sessions, upbeat collaborative playlists for team workshops, and motivational songs for pushing through project crunch times. Your desk often becomes the unwritten meeting spot due to your welcoming demeanour and ability to facilitate productive discussions.

You’re skilled at identifying colleagues’ strengths and creating conditions where everyone contributes their best work. While you value collaboration, you recognize when team members need space for independent thinking. You’re the first to suggest breaking large groups into smaller workstreams when projects become unwieldy, always keeping the end goal in mind.

You’ll want to be in an Inbox QUAD or TEAM. These modular meeting rooms accommodate your shifting needs, from four-person strategy sessions to six-person brainstorms. The monitor-mount capability makes sharing visual concepts really easy, and the soundproofing is always a good advantage to keep those conversations contained. 

Your music choice at the office reflects your personality, work habits, and even how you collaborate with your team. It also plays a role in your cognitive performance, energy levels, and ability to concentrate. So really, the next time to hit that play button at work, think about what zone you want to be in, and of course, enjoy those tunes!

Ready to upgrade your work environment? Explore our soundproof booths and find your perfect match today.