Ok. So the title is a little of a misnomer. We don't actually have a company jukebox (but we haven't ruled one out either). But today is National Jukebox Day and music is a huge part of our culture in our office. So how do we manage it with multiple musical opinions and tastes?
Spotify is Our Jukebox of Choice
First up, we had to choose a platform. We dabbled with Apple Music. Tried SiriusXM streaming. Toyed with Pandora but ultimately we landed on Spotify for a number of reasons:
- The selection of music is really broad.
- We kept finding curated playlists that we like.
- It's really built for music discovery.
- We can share playlists from our individual accounts to the company account.
- They have a desktop app for Mac for easy management.
How to Avoid Musical Anarchy
On any given day we have between 4 and 7 people in our office. And believe me, each of us has different taste in music. Since music is so important to our workday, we actually look for employees who have several qualities that help us avoid conflict and anarchy in our playlists:
- Open to trying new things (this is huge in a lot of ways)
- Respect for personal tastes of others
- Open and honest communication
In our office, every employee and contractor has access to our Spotify account to control what we're listening to. With our mix of personalities, it's rare to hear someone ask to control the music or take over. What's far more common is to hear someone say " I'm done running the music. Who wants to take over?" And there's always someone willing to give it a whirl.
Learning About Each Other
Our system for office music has worked well for years. One of the biggest benefits of the system is that we each get a little nonverbal insight into each others' personalities based on music choice. And we have some unique music preferences, believe me. But randomizing who picks music helps us get rid of preconceived notions and stereotypes about one another. Anything you think about how a Millennial or Gen Z'er choose music, or what Gen X'ers prefer to listen to falls apart in our office. We're unique and diverse. And don't follow most music stereotypes. Letting go of our assumptions about each other when it comes to music helps us to not jump to broad generalizations in other areas of our work relationships too. We recognize that we're all pretty darn unique, and contribute in new and interesting ways every day. But one thing we all agree one? Guardians of the Galaxy Complete Mixtape is an amazing backdrop to a productive day.
We Want to Know
- Do you listen to music in your office?
- How do you handle music selection?
- Do you have other ways your team bonds and learns about one another organically?