21 Songs for a Better Workplace Culture

21 Songs to Play at Work   

Music has been a huge motivator for social change. In the 1960’s and 70’s it brought the flower power, love generation together to protest the Vietnam war with songs like War by Edwin Starr and I Was Only 19 by Redgum.

Hurricane, Bob Dylan raised society’s awareness of injustice and resulted in an innocent man being freed from jail. More recently Same Love, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis spearheaded marriage equality and gay rights. And sometimes using music and songs for change can result in punishment and even jail as it did for the girls from Pussy Riot.  

A year ago, Spinify published it’s 20 Songs that will motivate your sales team. However our customers use leaderboards for many different target based use cases; fundraising, research, project management, customer service and property management. Over the same period, Spinify itself has evolved into a full solution for engaging, motivating and coaching staff to optimal performance and success. So here is our updated list for encouraging a better company and workplace culture.   

Songs for Workplace Engagement

Work consumes a large part of our life. Getting up in the morning and getting ready for work is a routine Morning Light, Violet Bunnies and most of us want to enjoy going to work. After all its a 9 to 5, Dolly Parton ritual.  We all know that in anything we do work or play You Get What You Give, New Radicals.

Companies want their staff to be engaged with the strategic goals and leave the office each day feeling like they achieved outcomes and progressed towards their targets and goals. All team members should feel uplifted by the work they do and empowered to impact their workplace in a positive way, Believe it or Not, Joey Scarbury.  

Adapting in the Workplace

Sometimes a workplace can feel like a minefield. Trying to negotiate new people, new processes and new technology can be difficult. Day after day you ask What’s Up, 4 Non Blondes. You need friend to get by With a Little help From My Friends, Joe Cocker. Seek out the most successful person and ask them to Mentor you on what’s required to get ahead, to teach you how we do things around here and how to be Popular, Kristin Chenoweth.

You should stay away from anyone who feels like they are part of group that believes Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Tears for Fears. These people can get you down and stop you being  Happy, Pharrell Williams and achieving Work/Life balance, Viva la Vida, Cold Play.  

As people adjust to their new workplace they will have questions and may want to push back on your processes. It’s a good idea to listen to them and encourage them to speak up about their observations, to get it all out. Shout, Tears for Fears.  

Sometimes employees become demotivated if they don’t feel that they aren’t being successful and managers may need to intervene and Build Me Up ButterCup, The Foundations. However when people are in the Snoozer Quadrant of the Spinify Performance Grid and persist in not doing the activities required on a daily basis then you may have to admit that you and your staff member are working to the beat of a Different Drum, Stone Poneys, and it’s time for them to seek a different career. It’s easy to avoid performance management of people and mangers often shy away from a breakup, giving people multiple chances. There comes a time to recognise We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together, Taylor Swift. 

Songs for Going Home

Then it happens. It’s knock off time and you’re ready to go. You may feel like you got knocked down during the day, but you got up again and now you can reap the rewards of all that hard work by Tubthumper, Chumbawamba. So now it’s time to Take me Home, John Denver. You drive, train or bus it there because This Must be the Place, Talking Heads.  

There’s nothing better than making friends at work. It keeps people engaged and develops team cohesion and collaboration.  Employers want their staff to really focus on their activities at work and not be distracted. In fact they want them for those work hours to feel that there’s no place they would Rather Be , Clean Bandits.  And sometimes we take our friends from work home to My House, Flo Rida.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. The Spinify Songs for changing culture in your workplace. What are yours? What song do you turn to when you need inspiration, an adrenaline rush or you want to celebrate. Let us know in the comments below.  We encourage you to choose one of these songs as a personal anthem (or choose your own favorite) and set it up as your song that plays when you reach an achievement on the Spinify leaderboard.