A press release landed on my news desk recently concerning audio technology specialists, Sonarworks’ findings on Gen-Z’s content consumption and how it affects their productivity levels at work.

The study found that 93% of respondents reported wearing headphones, with 26% of Gen-Z indicating that they always use them during working hours. Gen Z stands out as the generation consuming the most entertaining content, ranking music as the least preferred type of content to listen to through headphones. Interestingly, the study highlights Gen-Z’s acknowledgement that headphones could hinder their productivity.

Reading the report took me back to the dim and distant past when I used to listen keenly to the cutting tool vibrations of my CNC turret lathe when drilling into extremely tough Hastelloy billets. I’d be ‘all ears’ ready to reduce the machine’s feed rate as soon as I heard the drill ‘graunch’ (is that a word?), or I’d stop the lathe chuck before the drill point fused itself to the workpiece. I would have certainly scrapped the part had I been concentrating on what was on my headphones!

This potentially stressful example of cognitive overload leads me nicely to an article our deputy editor, Ed Hill has written in this issue (read more on page 10). Ed hears from BAE Systems, and how the company has been focusing on the best ways to draw a fighter pilot’s attention to a particular issue when they are fully engaged with other complex tasks in the cockpit. BAE employs a ‘haptic’ gaming vest - more commonly used to simulate the feel of action in virtual reality video games - using it to create vibration alerts across a pilot’s chest and back.

I don’t know about you but for me, silence is golden. To really be productive, I need to hear myself think!