Not a day goes by that you have to think about bringing a cold drink in the office. After all, it’s always too cold in there, and you shiver a few seconds after arriving. It’s been an ongoing topic of conversation – how wintry the office is; freezing even.
But it seems as if you are part of a minority. Most people seem just okay with being cold.
A conflict set on a wintry landscape
The Facebook headquarters is reportedly wintry cold to help people focus on their work. There seems to be not much protest in that particular workplace against the standard of 59 degrees Fahrenheit. However, so-called air-con wars happen everywhere all the time.
There are plenty of stories of resourceful employees trying to keep warm when the standard for the thermostat is numbing cold. Have you heard about people using a small heater in offices where wearing a jacket is not helpful at all?
Indoor temperature is one of the main factors that determine how hospitable an office is. Interestingly, it takes about seven minutes of each day just to adjust the temperature. Some office workers do not take this in stride. Some of the worst office air-condition wars will go down in infamy.
From the way tempers rise when thermostat issues arise, it looks as if there will be more air con wars in the future.
An ongoing tale of temperature extremes in the office
A comfortable working environment allows office workers to make it to their deadlines and produce inspired outputs. A global standard for typical office temperature is 71.6 degrees F. The range of 68 degrees F to 76 degrees F is the recommendation from the American Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
A recent survey involving a thousand office workers employed by the public sector revealed the presence of temperature extremes in their workplace. The respondents were despondent at having to send their day in an office that is either too hold or too cold.
To simplify, these workers are rather uncomfortable in a place where they spend at least six hours a day.
Fostering productivity amongst workers
Why should an employer care about the dire circumstances of workers who feel as if they are freezing to death every time they report to work? It’s not enough that they schedule regular Modesto HVAC services regularly.
It may already be an urgent concern to address if productivity is failing due to the office temperature. It’s not farfetched that being too cold (or too hot) would result in workers performing below par. Being uncomfortable while trying to meet deadlines would make anyone unhappy.
Even the most hardworking employees would start questioning how much the company values them if the workplace is not very agreeable. There is a direct relationship between productivity and company revenue. Uncomfortable and unproductive workers will only bring the company down with them.
Is there an ongoing tension in your office revolving around the thermostat? Perhaps Willis Haviland Carrier, the inventor of the modern air conditioning system did not foresee the profusion of conflicts arising from his invention.
You can be part of the solution if you work with your superiors in ensuring the workplace is a haven of comfort and productivity.
