Gen Z mandatory: Working in the office without headphones is a no-go
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A survey of 2,000 office workers revealed that a whopping 64% of 18- to 29-year-old office workers insist on wearing headphones or earbuds when working in front of their PC.
In comparison, only 27% of Generation X, people born between the first half of the 1960s and the early 1980s, share this habit.
Measured overall across all age groups, 69% of office workers surveyed report resorting to earplugs at some point during their workday.
The English survey was commissioned by Samsung Electronics to coincide with the launch of the company's noise-cancelling Galaxy Buds4 Pro headphones.
Background noise
Among Gen Z office workers, 55% cite background noise as the primary reason for using headphones, 34% complain in particular about annoying noise from colleagues' phone conversations.
35% of office workers who use headphones daily in the office report difficulties working without them. 20% feel that they make fewer mistakes when they listen to their favourite sounds while working.
  Two-thirds of your Generation Z colleagues at the office, meaning young people aged 18-29, insist on wearing headphones or earpods when they work in front of their PC, a new English study shows. Photos: StockCake |
The most popular sounds in headphones at work are pop music (34%), podcasts (22%) and rock (19%), followed by classical music (19%).
Six out of 10 office workers (61%) say they would be more productive if their surroundings were quieter. 37% identify soft music and unobtrusive background chatter as the ideal work environment.
Losing track
Several labour market studies have shown that it can take up to 15-20 minutes to find the thread again and re-establish lost concentration when you are interrupted in your creative thinking.
In open office environments, employees' brains work harder to maintain performance. Even when ignoring distractions, the brain uses mental effort to filter them out.
 Several studies have shown that it can take up to 15-20 minutes to find the thread again and re-establish lost concentration when you are interrupted in your creative thinking. |
Headphones, earpods, etc., can eliminate the worst background noise and visual distractions, which makes office workers' brains work more efficiently.
However, researchers emphasise that in open office environments, there can be the widest individual differences in what employees experience as distracting sound and noise. ●
Read more:
Nytimes.com/blog: What your noise-cancelling headphones can and can't do
Mirror.co.uk: Headphones essential for productivity among Gen Z in the workplace
Inews.co.uk: I'm Gen Z and wear headphones at work - my boss thinks it's anti-social
Dailymaverick.co.za: Why your brain has to work harder in an open-plan than private offices
