Don’t listen to Kanye (at work)

Hi! I’m Peter, CEO of Kickresume, and these career-related stories caught my attention this month — and might catch yours too.

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Does music make you more productive at work? For me, it’s a big yes. And most studies and surveys seem to agree.

But then, a couple of days ago, I played a Kanye West song in the office. And let’s just say it was the day I started to question this entire belief.

It wasn't on my bingo card for 2025 that the first newsletter of the year will talk about Kanye (is he still relevant?) AND the Roman Empire (what the…). But here we go.

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Harder, better, faster, stronger

The idea that music helps us work better isn’t just some clever Spotify marketing ploy to keep us listening 24/7. It’s actually backed up by examples from history, science, and, as it turns out, by our own survey results.

During World War II, the BBC created a program called Music While You Work to keep factory workers productive and focused. From 1940 to 1967, live orchestras, brass bands, and dance music serenaded workers daily—during both day and night shifts. 

This wasn’t a random experiment. The idea was that it’d keep workers motivated and productive. 

After all, the impact of music on worker productivity has been studied since the early 20th century. I won’t bore you with the details, but we now know that picking the right type of music, at the right time, and for the right task also matters when using music as a productivity booster.  

But the general takeaway stays the same: music really can make you more productive at work.

Our survey of 1,625 employees also confirmed this – 69% of them said that music boosts their productivity, focus, and motivation.

What survey, you might ask?

Well, we also carried out a (very scientific) survey to better understand the relationship between music and the workplace. 

The results of our survey also revealed that:

• Only ~3% (an overwhelming minority) called music a distraction or outright productivity killer

• While 89% have never been in a conflict due to music at work, 11% have 

• Rap turned out to be the most controversial—ranking among both the most loved and most hated genres.

It’s not every day you find yourself in two statistical minorities from the same survey, we at Kickresume did it! All thanks to Kanye West. 

Yeezus, here we go again

So what happened? 

A few days ago, the office was unusually quiet. So, I decided to fix that and put on some music.

I chose my usual playlist, hit shuffle, and then Black Skinhead by Kanye started playing (that's not the controversy yet, btw, I still like the 2005-2013 Kanye!).

If you’re not familiar with the lyrics of that song, there’s a line that goes: “I keep it 300, like the Romans.”

As soon as the line came, Martin, our head of content—whose Roman Empire is, unironically, the Roman Empire—went on a rant about how the lyric is historically inaccurate and should have been Spartans instead of Romans. 

START OF HISTORICAL INTERMEZZO (MUST READ)

Apparently, Kanye confused his reference to the movie 300, which depicts the Battle of Thermopylae, where allegedly 300 Spartans fought an estimate of between 120.000 and 300.000 Persians.)

END OF HISTORICAL INTERMEZZO

Then, others jumped in. 

One argued it was actually a clever nod to Roman numerals—300 translates to CCC, which could mean “Cool, Calm, and Collected.”

Others countered that “Spartans” simply wouldn’t rhyme as well with the line that follows.

And, of course, some (me) joined simply because it’s fun to argue with Martin.

The result? An impromptu history lesson, lyrical analysis, and a heated debate about artistic intent. 

Or in other words: eight people were unproductive for at least an hour. 

That’s eight man-hours in total down the drain. Not exactly a productivity boost, if you ask me.

How could I be so heartless? 

So, does music make people more productive at work? Yes. Just not on that one fateful day in our office. 

I could blame it on all sorts of things and people. Our survey showed that rap is a controversial genre for the office. So I could blame rap. 

I could also blame myself for playing a song that references a historical event even when I knew Martin was in the room. 

But I won’t. Instead, I think it’s time we install a new headphones-only rule. 

PS: As part of the survey, respondents shared the songs that keep them in work-mode. We compiled them into a Spotify playlist. (Let’s just say Kanye is the least problematic.)

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Random piece of career advice

A recent survey found that 67% of employers use social media to research potential candidates. 

It’s become a huge part of our daily lives as well as our professional identities. That's why including social media links in your resume can, in many cases, be advantageous and even required. 

And sometimes not so much. 

So, when to include social media on a resume? And when is it best to avoid?

By a rule of thumb…

• If you work in a field where social media are completely irrelevant — only include LinkedIn and nothing else. 

• If you're applying for a job in a smaller company where a cultural fit is important but it's in a field where social media are also kind of irrelevant — include LinkedIn, and possibly other social media platforms which show your personality in a positive light. That is, of course, only if you want. It's not necessary. 

• If you work in an industry where social media are a big part of the job — include those you're proud of and that are relevant. 

• If you work in a creative industry — include the social media (or portfolios) where you show off your work. For example, a developer can share their GitHub, and a motion graphic artist can share their YouTube. 

You can find more about which social media you should and shouldn't mention along with how to include it on your resume in this article. 

Thanks for sticking with me to the end. 

Since no great scroller should go unrewarded, here’s a 20% discount code for Kickresume Premium. 

Catch you later!

Peter