工作時能不能聽音樂？

THE guy in the next cubicle is yammering away on the phone. Across the room, someone begins cursing loudly at a jammed copy machine.

坐在旁邊格子間里的人對著電話講個沒完，在房間的另一頭，有人對著卡住的復(fù)印機(jī)大聲咒罵。

The headphones on the other end of your desk suddenly look very appealing. Would anyone mind if you tapped into your iTunes playlist for a while?

放在桌子另一邊的耳機(jī)突然顯得如此誘人。有人會在意你聽一會兒iTunes播放列表上的歌曲嗎?

Some workers like to listen to music when they find themselves losing focus. They may also plug in their earbuds to escape an environment that’s too noisy — or too quiet — or to make a repetitive job feel more lively.

一些員工在感到注意力無法集中時喜歡聽音樂，或者是戴上耳機(jī)來逃避太過嘈雜，或太過安靜的環(huán)境，或是借此讓重復(fù)性的工作變得更生動一些。

In biological terms, melodious sounds help encourage the release of dopamine in the reward area of the brain, as would eating a delicacy, looking at something appealing or smelling a pleasant aroma, said Dr. Amit Sood, a physician of integrative medicine with the Mayo Clinic.

梅約診所(Mayo Clinic)的整合醫(yī)學(xué)醫(yī)師阿米特·蘇德(Amit Sood)博士說，從生物學(xué)角度來講，優(yōu)美的旋律有助于刺激大腦獎賞區(qū)釋放多巴胺，同樣的反應(yīng)也可以發(fā)生在享用美味佳肴、觀賞美好事物、或聞到怡人香味的時候。

People’s minds tend to wander, “and we know that a wandering mind is unhappy,” Dr. Sood said. “Most of that time, we are focusing on the imperfections of life.” Music can bring us back to the present moment.

人的注意力易于游走，“而且我們知道走神是不愉快的，”蘇德博士說。“大多數(shù)時候，我們關(guān)注的是生活中不完美的地方。”音樂能把我們帶回到當(dāng)下的時刻。

“It breaks you out of just thinking one way,” said Teresa Lesiuk, an assistant professor in the music therapy program at the University of Miami.

“它讓你突破單一的思維方式，”邁阿密大學(xué)(University of Miami)音樂治療項目的助理教授特里薩·萊西烏克(Teresa Lesiuk)說道。

Dr. Lesiuk’s research focuses on how music affects workplace performance. In one study involving information technology specialists, she found that those who listened to music completed their tasks more quickly and came up with better ideas than those who didn’t, because the music improved their mood.

萊西烏克博士的研究集中在音樂怎樣影響工作表現(xiàn)這一課題上。有一個研究的對象是信息技術(shù)專家，從中她發(fā)現(xiàn)，聽音樂的人能比那些不聽音樂的人更迅速地完成工作和提出更好的想法，因為音樂改善了他們的情緒。

“When you’re stressed, you might make a decision more hastily; you have a very narrow focus of attention,” she said. “When you’re in a positive mood, you’re able to take in more options.”

“當(dāng)你壓力大的時候，你可能會更倉促地做決定;你的注意力很有局限，”她說，“而當(dāng)你心情好的時候，你能考慮到更多方面。”

Dr. Lesiuk found that personal choice in music was very important. She allowed participants in her study to select whatever music they liked and to listen as long as they wanted. Those who were moderately skilled at their jobs benefited the most, while experts saw little or no effect. And some novices regarded the music as distracting.

萊西烏克博士發(fā)現(xiàn)，個人對音樂的選擇相當(dāng)重要。她讓研究參與者任意選擇他們喜愛的音樂和聽歌時間。那些對工作中等熟練的員工從音樂中獲益最大，而專家卻很少或幾乎沒有受到影響，還有一些工作新手認(rèn)為音樂讓人分心。

Dr. Lesiuk has also found that the older people are, the less time they spend listening to music at work.

萊西烏克博士還發(fā)現(xiàn)，年齡越大的人在工作時聽音樂的時間越短。

Few companies have policies about music listening, said Paul Flaharty, a regional vice president at Robert Half Technology, the staffing agency. But it is still a good idea to check with your manager, even if you see others wearing headphones in the office.

人才中介公司Robert Half Technology的區(qū)域副總裁保羅·弗拉哈迪(Paul Flaharty)說，很少有公司出臺有關(guān)聽音樂的政策規(guī)定。但即使你看到辦公室里別的員工戴著耳機(jī)，也還是最好先詢問公司經(jīng)理。

He said some supervisors might think that workers wearing headphones weren’t fully engaged and were blocking out important interactions “because they are going into their own world.”

他說，一些管理人員可能會覺得戴耳機(jī)聽音樂的員工沒有全心投入工作，而且他們隔絕了重要的交流，“因為他們沉浸在自己的世界里了”。

“If someone’s not doing a good job,” he said, “then you can have a hiring manager say that all they do is listen to music all day and that it’s hampering productivity.”

“如果有些人工作表現(xiàn)不好，”他說，“你就會聽到招聘經(jīng)理說，他們成天都在聽音樂，降低了工作效率。”

For those who choose to listen to music, it’s best to set limits, because wearing headphones for an entire shift can be perceived as rude by those nearby.

對那些選擇聽音樂的人來說，最好是有一些限度，因為在整個上班時間里都戴著耳機(jī)對周圍的人來說是一種不尊重。

Dr. Sood, at the Mayo Clinic, said it takes just 15 minutes to a half-hour of listening time to regain concentration. Music without lyrics usually works best, he said.

梅約診所的蘇德博士說，只需聽上15分鐘到半個小時的音樂就能重新集中注意力。沒有歌詞的音樂通常效果最好，他說。

Daniel Rubin, a columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer, said he has listened to jazz and piano concertos for most of his 33-year newspaper career — but only when writing on deadline. He started off using a Sony Walkman, but now makes use of 76 days’ worth of music on his iTunes playlist.

《費城詢問報》(The Philadelphia Inquirer)的專欄作家丹尼爾·魯賓(Daniel Rubin)說，他在自己33年的報紙工作生涯中，一直習(xí)慣聽爵士樂和鋼琴協(xié)奏曲，但只是在截稿期前趕稿的時候。他最初用的是索尼隨身聽(Sony Walkman)，但現(xiàn)在他的iTunes播放列表上的音樂可以聽上76天。

“The person clicking their nails three desks away and the person humming next to me all sound equally loud and it’s hard for me to block them out,” he said.

“有人在三張桌子之外剪指甲，還有人在旁邊哼歌，這些噪音在我聽來一樣地吵，很難把噪音阻隔，”他說。

As a columnist, he works mostly alone, and people in the office seldom need to approach him. But when he was a budding reporter, he noticed that colleagues would become irritated when trying to get his attention. “It was really annoying because suddenly you would hear ‘Dan ... DAN ... DAN RUBIN! People were screaming at you because they needed you.”

作為專欄作家，很多時候他是單獨工作，辦公室里的人幾乎不需要和他交流。但當(dāng)他剛做記者的時候，他發(fā)現(xiàn)同事們經(jīng)常為了要引起他的注意而上火。“那真的是相當(dāng)煩人，因為突然你就聽到有人大喊‘丹…丹…丹·魯賓!’別人朝著你喊叫，因為他們有事找你。”

ANDREW ENDERS, 28, a lawyer and insurance broker in Linglestown, Pa., said he and an officemate bonded over a local radio station when they worked at the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office. They switched off the radio only when speaking with a client, and they lowered the volume when their boss was around.

賓夕法尼亞州林格斯鎮(zhèn)的28歲律師兼保險經(jīng)紀(jì)人安德魯·恩德斯(Andrew Enders)說，當(dāng)他在道芬縣地區(qū)檢察官辦公室工作時，他和另一個同事因為收聽當(dāng)?shù)氐膹V播建立了友誼。他們只在和客戶談話時才關(guān)上收音機(jī)，在老板在時會降低音量。

“I do these very serious things, reviewing insurance policies and evaluating risk and liability exposure,” Mr. Enders said. “A big part of my personality is the artistic side, and music helps me balance who I am as an individual with what I’m doing at work.”

“我從事都是很重要的事情，查閱保單，以及評估風(fēng)險和責(zé)任，”恩德斯說。“我的性格很大一方面是偏藝術(shù)的，音樂幫助我在個人和工作之間找到平衡。”