Finding the right soundtrack - whether you’re working from home, or in the office (or maybe, a bit of both) - is key for a productive day's work. Studies have shown that music improves both productivity and cognitive performance, especially in adults. Music streaming services such as Spotify are therefore filled with motivational playlists for office and home workers alike.
With the social pressures and office politics forgotten, remote working has allowed people to enjoy listening to their guilty pleasure songs that they may not be comfortable playing in the office.
Whether it’s working in the office with colleagues, at home alone, or a hybrid of the two - we wanted to find out the world's most popular songs and artists people love to listen to whilst they work. To do this, we analysed over 69,000 songs from 832 ‘work’ playlists on Spotify to reveal the most played tracks that keep us entertained throughout the working day.
Listen to all three playlists in full on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/user/3wzx7y795uii97cxhhtybx9vg
The top 20 most popular songs amongst those working from home
With 178 playlist features, ‘STAY’ (with Justin Bieber) by The Kid LAROI came first in the rankings of the most popular songs for remote workers.
Olivia Rodrigo featured heavily in the top 10 for remote working playlists (‘déjà vu’, ‘drivers license’, ‘good 4 u’ featured in 7th, 8th and 9th positions, respectively). Olivia Rodrigo’s songs, all from album Sour, generally feature around the theme of breakups and are the perfect song for belting out while at home — away from the eyes (and ears) of your colleagues.
Songs ranking in positions 11 -20 included hits from popular artists such as Dua Lipa, Lewis Capaldi and Doja Cat, each with between 80 and 100 working from home playlist features.
Our top playlist for working from home - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5obfhTAF0QrC14yOAAanS3?si=8f06df3b0227476a
Rank |
Track and artist |
Number of playlist features |
1 |
STAY (with Justin Bieber) - The Kid LAROI |
178 |
2 |
Heat Waves - Glass Animals |
155 |
3 |
Peaches (feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon) - Justin Bieber |
137 |
4 |
Blinding Lights - The Weeknd |
132 |
5 |
Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles |
129 |
6 |
Easy On Me - Adele |
128 |
7 |
deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo |
128 |
8 |
drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo |
124 |
9 |
good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo |
118 |
10 |
Dreams - 2004 Remaster Fleetwood Mac |
110 |
11 |
Circles - Post Malone |
105 |
12 |
Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran |
104 |
13 |
Levitating (feat. DaBaby) - Dua Lipa |
102 |
14 |
Kiss Me More (feat. SZA) - Doja Cat |
101 |
15 |
Work from Home (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) - Fifth Harmony |
98 |
16 |
Stuck with U (with Justin Bieber) - Ariana Grande |
88 |
17 |
Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi |
87 |
18 |
Leave The Door Open - Bruno Mars |
85 |
19 |
Shivers - Ed Sheeran |
83 |
20 |
Golden - Harry Styles |
83 |
The top 20 most popular songs amongst office workers
The Chainsmokers hit featuring Halsey: ‘Closer’, is the most popular song for office workers, featuring in more office-related playlists than any other track, with Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ following close behind with 40 playlist features.
Ed Sheeran places multiple times in the top five - ranking in fourth place with a second track: ‘Thinking out Loud’. Both of these songs have low BPMs compared to other songs featured in the top ten, showing that office workers may prefer slower songs to help keep them concentrating and doing their best work in the office.
‘Happier’ by Marshmello, and the classic ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey ranked third and fifth respectively for the most popular office songs.
The top 50 most popular songs to listen to while office working averaged a BPM of 110, with more ‘classic’ artists including Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison and Journey featuring in the list.
Our top playlist for working in the office - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3lptrRjr3h51PNCgHAANvZ?si=f3c9bf4700a04038
Rank |
Track and artist |
Number of playlist features |
1 |
Closer - The Chainsmokers |
42 |
2 |
Shape of You - Ed Sheeran |
40 |
3 |
Happier - Marshmello |
40 |
4 |
Thinking out Loud - Ed Sheeran |
38 |
5 |
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey |
38 |
6 |
How to Save a Life - The Fray |
36 |
7 |
Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) - Train |
36 |
8 |
Hey, Soul Sister - Train |
36 |
9 |
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison |
36 |
10 |
Memories - Maroon 5 |
34 |
11 |
Sunflower - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - Post Malone |
34 |
12 |
Sucker - Jonas Brothers |
34 |
13 |
Shut Up and Dance - WALK THE MOON |
34 |
14 |
Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles |
32 |
15 |
Dancing With A Stranger (with Normani) - Sam Smith |
32 |
16 |
The Middle - Zedd |
32 |
17 |
Love Song - Sara Bareilles |
32 |
18 |
Riptide - Vance Joy |
32 |
19 |
no tears left to cry - Ariana Grande |
32 |
20 |
I'm Yours - Jason Mraz |
30 |
The top 20 most popular songs amongst hybrid workers
Using data from the ‘remote’ and ‘office’ playlists, we were also able to identify the most popular songs for the modern hybrid worker.
‘STAY’ emerged as the overall most popular song for workers, with featuring artist Justin Bieber ranking as the third most popular hybrid artist. Harry Styles’ ‘Watermelon Sugar’ and The Weekend’s ‘Blinding Lights’ also made the overall top five, each with over 160 features across both working from home and office playlists.
The average BPM of this combined playlist was unsurprisingly midway between both playlists at 115.
Our top playlist for hybrid working - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3VIeCeeBaBUNlHFFlgLk8u?si=071a12b7a9144ce3
Rank |
Track and artist |
Number of playlist features |
1 |
STAY (with Justin Bieber) The Kid LAROI |
178 |
2 |
Save Your Tears (with Ariana Grande) (Remix) The Weeknd |
162 |
3 |
Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles |
161 |
4 |
Blinding Lights - The Weeknd |
160 |
5 |
Heat Waves - Glass Animals |
155 |
6 |
Peaches (feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon) - Justin Bieber |
137 |
7 |
deja vu - Olivia Rodrigo |
128 |
8 |
Easy On Me - Adele |
128 |
9 |
drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo |
124 |
10 |
Closer - The Chainsmokers |
118 |
11 |
good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo |
118 |
12 |
Dreams - 2004 Remaster Fleetwood Mac |
110 |
13 |
Sunflower - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - Post Malone |
108 |
14 |
Adore You - Harry Styles |
107 |
15 |
Circles - Post Malone |
105 |
16 |
Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran |
104 |
17 |
Levitating (feat. DaBaby) - Dua Lipa |
102 |
18 |
I Like Me Better - Lauv |
101 |
19 |
Kiss Me More (feat. SZA) - Doja Cat |
101 |
20 |
Memories - Maroon 5 |
100 |
Top 15 most popular artists amongst those working from home
Taylor Swift came out on top as the most popular artist featuring in remote working playlists, with more than double the number of features compared to artists Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber who ranked in second and third place.
BTS and Ariana Grande made up the top five most popular artists amongst home workers, while The Weeknd, Drake, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Maroon 5 completed the top ten most popular artists to listen to while working from home.
With four songs featuring in the top 50 most popular working from home songs, Olivia Rodrigo ranked in 11th position.
Rank |
Artist |
Number of playlist features |
1 |
Taylor Swift |
2,044 |
2 |
Ed Sheeran |
983 |
3 |
Justin Bieber |
965 |
4 |
BTS |
906 |
5 |
Ariana Grande |
901 |
6 |
The Weeknd |
698 |
7 |
Drake |
623 |
8 |
Billie Eilish |
619 |
9 |
Harry Styles |
618 |
10 |
Maroon 5 |
597 |
11 |
Olivia Rodrigo |
594 |
12 |
Dua Lipa |
542 |
13 |
John Mayer |
537 |
14 |
Bruno Mars |
492 |
15 |
Coldplay |
486 |
Top 15 most popular artists amongst office workers
When looking at which artists are featured the most in office-related playlists on Spotify, Ed Sheeran takes the top spot with 320 of his tracks appearing across office working playlists with Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift placing in second and third place respectively, each with over 220 features.
Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars and Coldplay all had their tracks appearing in 162 playlists, while the artist of the number one most popular song for office workers - The Chainsmokers - ranked in 12th position with 128 playlist features. John Mayer and The Beatles completed the top 15 most popular artists, each with 126 features in office working playlists.
Rank |
Artist |
Number of playlist features |
1 |
Ed Sheeran |
320 |
2 |
Maroon 5 |
248 |
3 |
Taylor Swift |
220 |
4 |
Shawn Mendes |
198 |
5 |
Justin Bieber |
162 |
6 |
Bruno Mars |
162 |
7 |
Coldplay |
162 |
8 |
Ariana Grande |
158 |
9 |
OneRepublic |
140 |
10 |
Sam Smith |
138 |
11 |
Katy Perry |
134 |
12 |
The Chainsmokers |
128 |
13 |
Khalid |
128 |
14 |
John Mayer |
126 |
15 |
The Beatles |
126 |
Top 15 most popular artists amongst hybrid workers
Taylor Swift was revealed as the most popular artist for all workers with a whopping 2,264 features across both office and working from home playlists. T-Swift (as she’s known to fans) was followed by Ed Sheeran (1,303 features) and Justin Bieber (1,127 features), with Ariana Grande and BTS making up the top five artists for the hybrid worker.
Rank |
Artist |
Number of playlist features |
1 |
Taylor Swift |
2264 |
2 |
Ed Sheeran |
1303 |
3 |
Justin Bieber |
1127 |
4 |
Ariana Grande |
1059 |
5 |
BTS |
906 |
6 |
Maroon 5 |
845 |
7 |
The Weeknd |
804 |
8 |
Harry Styles |
720 |
9 |
Billie Eilish |
705 |
10 |
Drake |
699 |
11 |
John Mayer |
663 |
12 |
Bruno Mars |
654 |
13 |
Dua Lipa |
650 |
14 |
Coldplay |
648 |
15 |
Olivia Rodrigo |
594 |
Whether you’re listening to Spotify while working from home, commuting to the office or planning a work trip to another city, Business Booker makes business travel a breeze.
Listen to all three of our Spotify playlists - https://open.spotify.com/user/3wzx7y795uii97cxhhtybx9vg
Methodology
Most popular artists and songs were calculated by scraping the song data of playlists containing “office” and “work from home” keywords, and the top 50 most common songs in both WFH and office playlists were combined to reveal the most popular hybrid artists.
All results are based on Spotify data correct as of December 2021.