Silence, background noise or music: What do CEOs prefer to maintain complete focus?

Can’t seem to fully engage with a particular task? Choosing the right background music to channel your thinking might be the solution.

Establishing the work environment that works best for you requires taking into consideration a number of factors. However, one that is very often overlooked is that of choosing what to listen to in order to retain your focus and be as productive as possible.

Quizzed through a series of quick-fire questions first published in MaltaCEOs 2023’s print edition, the various CEOs that are leading many of Malta’s top businesses shared their different workplace preferences when it comes to achieving complete concentration.

Working in complete silence remained a preference for over half of the 50 CEOs that were questioned.

One of those CEOs is AX Group’s Michael Warrington, who stated that although it depends on the situation and what he is doing, he needs silence to “think clearly”.

However, on the flip side of things, there are also a wide array of people that tend to go for more background noise in order to get their brain going and be efficient in their work.

“It depends on the task. Repetitive tasks are definitely accompanied by music,” Yakof Agius & Associates CEO Yakof Agius said.

Others revealed that they tend to look for a particular genre of music that allows them to either calm down and focus, or else get them pumped up and eager to get everything ready.

One such genre is classical music, with a number of CEOs highlighting that it helps them get more in tune with the task at hand, while also taking away some of the nervousness and anxiety that can come with work.

On the other hand, Binderr CEO Jacob Appel prefers the more upbeat trance music, while DHL Express Country Manager Malta Dimitris Papas goes for a more varied selection, which includes jazz, opera, as well as rock.

There were others that like to go for a blend of both silence and background noise, depending on what they are doing and the particular mood that they are in.

“Soft rock or Spanish guitar for creative work. Otherwise, complete silence,” The Design Hub Studio Managing Director Sean Cassar said.

“Depends on my mood. Background noise is my least favourite unless it’s ocean waves,” Promethean CEO and Managing Director Jonathan De Giovanni explained.

In other cases, business leaders have found ways to adapt to their situations at the workplace or at home, and have thus grown indifferent to different sounds.

Zamco Group CEO Sandro Zammit noted that given his experience working in a factory, he has gotten “used to working with the sounds of the factory” around him, “so nothing flusters” him.

Francis J Vassallo & Associates CEO Adriana Camilleri Vassallo said that both silence and background noise work for her, since as a mother, she has learned to “adapt”.