Awkward silence

“Nanci, SHH!”

It’s probably no shock that I tested the limits of the school librarian’s patience with my inability to stay quiet.

Afterall, the library was just a social room with a lot of books.

There is something to be said about an uncomfortable silence.

When you enter a library, you expect it.

It’s as if your body and mind adjust to the fact that you will inevitably hear that silence ringing in your ears as people shuffle through the shelves of books.

When someone all of the sudden coughs in a library, your ears almost become offended at the pure aggressive nature of it all.

SHH!

Quiet!

Although a library is a true temple of silence, most places should welcome active noise.

I’m not saying that you should do a tap-dance performance in the hospital hallway, but I am saying you must expect and sometimes even welcome some noise.

Okay I have led up to this the best that I can.

I am just going to say it.

STOP making your credit union branches silent!

It isn’t comfortable for anyone.

I’m not saying that you must blast heavy metal, but for goodness sakes please have some background music on.

Finances are notoriously partnered with discomfort.

It’s true.

Nobody truly wakes up and proclaims to the heavens how lucky they are to have to go to their financial institution today.

…unless there’s cookies.

Cookies change everything.

Seriously though, we can provide some comfort to something that causes discomfort for so many.

Whether the member is worried about a late fee, or when their paycheck doesn’t deposit the day they were expecting, we can make those moments just a bit less uncomfortable with background noise.

Listening to music has been shown to be an effective way to reduce stress.

In fact, a recent study proved that stress and anxiety directly affect a person’s ability to work, hurting their motivation and productivity.

Music can release dopamine and increase a sense of pleasure.

But it also reduces the levels of cortisol in the body, helping to relieve feelings of stress.

Employees who don’t have to combat stress and anxiety can be much more productive.

Members who can focus on the song playing lightly in the background are less likely to become agitated.

Music is therapy in many ways.

Now I know that this is a hot topic for many.

We have your volume warriors that must ‘notch it down’ several times a day because it’s just ‘too loud’.

We have your silence lovers who prefer to hear their coworkers stomach grumble like clockwork at 11 AM each day.

Here’s the truth, providing an atmosphere of comfort for our members is number one.

If you walk into your credit union and are met with pen clicks and silence, the first thing you will want to do is leave.

Is that the message that we want to send?

Absolutely not.

The credit union way states that we have a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.

How can that be if someone walks into stone cold silence?

I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember a bad day when music was involved.

Never in the history of ever have I yelled to Whitney Houston, ‘NO, I do NOT want to dance with somebody”.

I am begging all of you ‘silence is golden’ lovers to reevaluate your stance.

Music is a universal comfort and something that we can provide our employees and members for FREE.

*insert pen click mic drop here*