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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be worried about going in the office in this heat already?

228 replies

Chocolateapot · 23/05/2026 13:52

I work in an NHS building on the second floor with no aircon. There are windows but these only open a fraction and don't let much air in. When it is hot it gets so unbearable I end up feeling genuinely unwell with a headache. A few years ago apparently someone fainted the office got so hot. AIBU for already worrying about next week in this heatwave?

OP posts:
Branwells77 · 25/05/2026 08:09

I also work in an office with no air con we have fans we are third floor so our windows only open a little and you can guarantee the heating will be on because there’s always someone moaning it’s cold I’m up and down 4 flights of stairs all day and the rooms we work in with the clients downstairs don’t have windows or air con or fans and the doors must be kept closed these rooms are exceptionally small and become extremely hot very quickly but we all manage to survive every summer.
Keep hydrated and invest in some cooling spray.

DefiantRabbit9 · 25/05/2026 04:26

I feel you there. I'm terrified of this heat bringing on a seizure as I have to take the tube to work and am 25 weeks pregnant.

LadyVioletBridgerton · 24/05/2026 23:11

I used to work in the NHS. It got so hot in my office that a colleague and I clubbed together to buy a fan as management wouldn’t buy one. We were both absolutely sweltering before we got it.

PerhapsaSillyQuestion · 24/05/2026 22:54

@Chocolateapot these mini rechargeable fans will save you and as other pp said no pat testing !
They hold their charge for hours !

PerhapsaSillyQuestion · 24/05/2026 22:49

Air con and air purifier really needs to be installed in hospitals.
Op I hear you ! .
These buildings are so badly designed. .can you small bottle of water spray and get small portable fan . Take ice packs

Nofeckingway · 24/05/2026 22:48

I worked in a similar office OP . Large glass windows , little ventilation and lots of computers generating heat . I was used to hot summers but this felt horrendous to me . I fainted . Some good suggestions here . Hope some of them help .

SquirrelGG · 24/05/2026 22:42

I, and the rest of my colleagues, spent years working in offices with no ac, fans blowing papers everywhere, and the windows closed to keep the hot air out. And yet we coped, no-one fainted, and we have far longer periods of hot weather than you do in the UK. What is wrong with people these days?

HScully · 24/05/2026 22:19

Chocolateapot · 23/05/2026 14:19

I'm not allowed my fan that I took in as they won't PAT test it... theres 2 fans for the whole office (of approx 40 people).

Buy a rechargeable fan, as long as you charge it at home, it doesn't need pat testing

QuizNight · 24/05/2026 22:02

coneyislandoldspot · 23/05/2026 15:59

It’s 22 degrees 😂

It may be 22 degrees in your particular place but in Greater London it was 32 degrees today and is going to be 34 tomorrow and the day after. It’s likely to be closer to 40 degrees inside if the op says it’s normally around 5 degrees warmer inside the office.

Youdontseehow · 24/05/2026 21:14

Chocolateapot · 23/05/2026 14:09

I'm not going to go off sick! Yes, in a patient facing role. And I'm not a pessimist and I like the sun, it just gets VERY hot in the office. I'd say an average of 5 hotter than outside. Even in the winter it's roasting :')

Well your username is quite apt!

genuinely- when did we become such lightweights? Ok so it’s quite hot in some areas, but bloody hell, we are not living in the sun!!

Annoyedmillennial · 24/05/2026 21:09

AuContrairePubicHair · 23/05/2026 14:04

"this heat" FFS, it's going to be mid 20s. Yes quite hot for the UK but not really extreme. Just take a fan and a couple of bottles of frozen water.

In London it’s going to be 33 and likely feel hotter

Hackedoffinoldage · 24/05/2026 20:43

I hear you OP. I’m exactly the same and it doesn’t need to even be that hot to bring on a
migraine for me. I dread sunny weather in the office, as everyone seems to be unable or unwilling to open windows and I feel
like the fresh air nag. But it seriously makes me ill and anyone who suffers from genuine migraines know how debilitating they are.

YenSon · 24/05/2026 19:59

Take a thermal water bottle with iced water. Move slowly. Wear your hair up. Natural fabric clothes. Take a neck fan or equivalent.
stay hydrated. It was 40 degrees in my classroom during the last heatwave with fractious 5 year olds. Opening the windows lets the hot air in. Same room drops to 12 degrees in the winter.

dannyufcfan · 24/05/2026 19:51

A tad dramatic.

BreadedChickenLips · 24/05/2026 19:48

I bought a fan and brought it into the office. PAT testing is recommended but not essential.

Mokel · 24/05/2026 19:46

Also probably some offices maybe hotter on Tuesday if they are closed and the air con is off, reduced.

Aluna · 24/05/2026 19:34

Italian here, here are my tips:

Miyagi99 · 24/05/2026 17:40

Also NHS office here, we were allowed to do our hours extra early(starting at 4am)in order to miss the heat.

vanillasugar2 · 24/05/2026 17:25

Boromirsgreyhound · 24/05/2026 17:17

There’s this marvellous invention called ‘A FAN’.

I dunno. I worked in an office which was vile, we had the Dyson type fans, at least 15 of them
i had a USB one on my desk as did everyone else
would wear a lightweight top and cropped trousers and my top would be wet with sweat at the back, walking in the office was like hitting a wall of heat
I am SO glad I don’t work there any more as it was ridiculous

DJSteves · 24/05/2026 17:22

@vicryl4Sounds like the one I use. 3 settings and a fair bit of power. I love mine

Boromirsgreyhound · 24/05/2026 17:17

There’s this marvellous invention called ‘A FAN’.

vicryl4 · 24/05/2026 16:53

A John Lewis hand held fan which can sit works well in a clinic room. I used to position it by the computer, there's no need for a pat test. It helped me get through a busy clinic in a hot stuffy room.

LakieLady · 24/05/2026 16:39

NotAnotherScarf · 23/05/2026 16:28

Guessing you didn't have a job on 1995 or 1976?

I was working in a big open plan office in 1976, where the outside walls were 50% windows, most of which had fixed panes and couldn't be opened.

We used to take in face flannels, wet them, ring them out and stick them in the fridge. They were remarkably effective when you draped them on the back of your neck!

LakieLady · 24/05/2026 16:10

AuContrairePubicHair · 23/05/2026 14:04

"this heat" FFS, it's going to be mid 20s. Yes quite hot for the UK but not really extreme. Just take a fan and a couple of bottles of frozen water.

Really? The Met Office forecast for my part of Sussex is 30 tomorrow, 31 on Tuesday.

The BBC have 28 for both days though, so I hope they're right.

Hassell · 24/05/2026 15:29

AMurderofMurderingCrows · 24/05/2026 14:21

Now you're making me laugh.

STOP MAKING ME LAUGH

😂😂

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Hopefully you’re cooling down a bit now