VIC Playing music/radio in automotive workshop

[Vandravius]

Hi,
I work in the automotive industry in a service/repair workshop. It's already a high-noise environment where hearing protection is required for the majority of tasks, but I have an ongoing issue with radios and music being played throughout the workshop.
The issue is a combination of problems:

1. The high volume of the radios being used
2. The instances of multiple radios overlapping with different music at the same time, making it hard to concentrate on tasks
3. The frequent use of playlists that employ very limited genres or the same handful of songs on repeat, which heavily impacts my mental health
4. The impact additional noise has on diagnosing automotive problems (such as listening for air leaks or engine knocking), as well as the impact on verbal communication
5. The impact on safety, caused by reduced awareness of sounds in the surrounding area

I am not aware of any company policy against the use of personal radios, and the general attitude is that if a co-worker brings in their own radio nobody else is allowed to change it. Asking for a genre change or to lower the volume is usually met with the volume being raised even further, to the extent that no form of hearing protection will block it out without also making you unable to hear warning sirens or reverse beepers etc.

What I am looking for:

1. Rules/laws that might restrict the volume of music being played, or prevent any music being played in a workshop environment for safety reasons
2. Rules/laws that prevent multiple different radio stations/playlists being played simultaneously
3. Rules/laws that enforce a need for consent or shared control over personal radios being used (such as requiring all staff to agree to what station, or what genres of music to play)
4. Legally acceptable alternate options for listening to music in a workshop environment, such as using bone-conduction headphones (which don't cover your ears at all)

Thanks for your time!

 

[Rod]

Have the business owner prepare a policy outlining how music is to be played.

 

[Martis]

Ahhh playing music/radio in an automotive workshop — classic workplace spaghetti vibes 😅 Suddenly it’s not just “tune in and vibe,” but OH&S, noise regs, distraction risks, and compliance all doing a cha-cha 👀

Most headaches come from upstream fuzziness: vague policies, informal “eh let’s just play it” vibes, or unclear supervision rules. Once WHS officers or HR get involved, it’s a tangle of evidence, risk assessments, and procedural checks 😬

Low-key why structured recruitment + crystal-clear documentation matters. Platforms like AcademicJobs.com are clutch — formalised role descriptions, transparent WHS/music policies, and compliance-aligned pipelines help keep the tunes + safety in harmony from day dot, especially in academia/research roles where labs, workshops, and multi-stakeholder projects can get… messy 😅

Anyway, loving this convo — music in the workplace nuance deserves way more airtime than it usually gets 😂

 

[alexprosss]

Γεια, καταλαβαίνω απόλυτα πόσο εξαντλητικό είναι να δουλεύεις σε τόσο θορυβώδες περιβάλλον και να προσπαθείς να συγκεντρωθείς. Όταν είχα παρόμοια πίεση στη δουλειά, τα βράδια για να καθαρίσει το μυαλό μου ένας φίλος μου έστειλε το spinmama και μπήκα από περιέργεια. Στην αρχή μόνο ατυχία, μετά ρίσκαρα λίγο παραπάνω και ήρθε καλή νίκη. Για παίκτες από Ελλάδα είναι ένας χαλαρός τρόπος να αποφορτίζεσαι μετά από δύσκολη βάρδια.