Radio & Work in Jamaica
Leahcim Semaj, Ph.D. - Change Agent

Radio is the "King of all Media" in the workplace. According to an Arbitron At-Work study in the USA, the majority of people polled said Radio made their jobs, to varying degrees, "more productive." The study found 65 percent of respondents said they listened to Radio at their primary jobs. Compare this with 39 percent who read the newspaper, 16 percent who used the Internet and 11 percent who watched TV. In this study the ranking for radio format listened to at work was as follows: (1) Adult Contemporary, (2) Soft Adult Contemporary (3) Classic Rock, (4) Adult Oldies Radio (5)Hot Adult Contemporary (6)New Age Contemporary (7)Alternate, (8)Contemporary Hit Rock, (9)Country, (10)Urban, (11)News/Talk.
Those who did not listen at work gave as the main reason that it was not appropriate or did not fit in with their work. Some did not because they found it distracting or it was against company policy.
In the UK work place accounts for nearly a seventh of all listening hours. About 32% of the workforce listens to the radio. The report also found that work start and end times correspond to radio's peak at-work listening times. The following patterns emerge, based on at-work listening in the Top 10 radio metros:

• At-Work listening increases during each half-hour beginning at 6:30AM.
  
• At-Work listening continues to climb until approximately 9:00 AM, when it holds fairly steady until approximately 3PM.
  
• At-Work listening begins to decline from 3PM through approximately 7PM, when levels remain fairly stable through the midnight hour.

At-work radio listening is highest during the prime work hours of Monday to Friday 10AM-3:00PM, with its sharpest peak between 12:30-2PM.
Functional needs, such as travel news, account for some workplace listening, but listening is more likely to be motivated by emotional needs - to raise spirits and relieve boredom. Music is seen as the dominant factor in station choice, although news and the presenter are also important considerations. Station switching is low at work. Nearly 58% of workers listen to only one station in a week.

Jamaican Data
In 2000 we found that 16% of persons we surveyed reported that they listened to radio at work. The distribution was as follows: 18% in the morning, 25% in the day, 14 in the evening and 6% at night. In this study the favourite radio show was Good Morning Jamaica (18%) followed by Trivial Pursuit (12%), Jerry D Live (7%) and Perkins on Line (6%). The top rated radio personalities were Allan and Dorraine (22%), Francois (12%), Jerry D (11%), Paula-Ann Porter (7%) and Wilmot Perkins (4%).

Jamaica - Driving to and from Work
We have been collecting Drive Time data since 1997, documenting what people listen to in their vehicles in the corporate area. The Year-to-date summary is shown in the accompanying table. A free sample of the November 2001 data is available at www.jamaicadata.com. On the way to and from work the favourite radio stations are RJR94 and FAME. Going to work and back home FAME usually has the lead edging out RJR94 in three of the five surveys going to work and four of the five going home.

In another recent national study with 650 consumers, the number one radio show by far was Good Morning Jamaica (14%). This study also recorded the favourite radio personalities as Allan and Dorraine (19.4%). The other top rated radio personalities are mainly persons that we listen to driving to or from work:

• Jerry D 11.8%
  
• Francois St.Juste 7.4%
  
• Richie B 6.6%
  
• Deon Matthis 6.3%
  
• Paula-Anne Porter 4.0%
  
• Ron Mushette 3.9%
  
• G.T. Taylor 3.2%
  
• Wilmot Perkins 3.1%

In another national study with a sample of 250, we found that the top favourite radio shows were mainly on two stations, RJR94 (27%) and FAME (17%). These were also the stations with the top rated personalities, Allan and Dorraine (25%) and Francois (10%), presenters that people listened to on the way to work.

What I have always found most interesting that even though we now have more radio stations than at any other time in our history, the fact is that on the average, more than 25% of the persons are listening to tapes or CDs or have their radios off.

What are these figures telling us?
Our pattern seems quite similar to that of the UK and USA with music being the dominant favourite going to and from work. The second factor in our situation would be the presenter. With more than 25% of the Drive Time radio audience tuning out, this is an indication that our radio programmers have a ways to go to satisfy the needs of the radio audience. There certainly is room for more stations with more varied formats to meet the unmet needs.