people that demand the ac must be on 18 on cloudy not warm days

[marieinlondon]

I only work part time in an office. The work is OK, but I just can't stand the ac. I'm the only slim one in the room and throughout the summer I have to wear a jumper and scarf as its freezing as my larger colleagues all like it turned right down to 18 even on days when there is a cool breeze outside all the windows are shut and we just have stale cold dry air. Does anyone else have this problem?

We have blasts of air con at the mo interspersed with it off - it gets stuffy in a room with lots of people and there is only so much fresh air that gets in the windows that only open 5 inches (plus half the windows can't be opened due to smokers outside them. We have it in blasts as it is uncomfortable for those sat under the aircon directly to be pelted with cooler air all day so we try and achieve a level of fairness.

I do believe in finding a happy medium but that is hard with the people that like to come in sleeveless clothes as it is summer then complain that it is too cool with air con set over 20 often at 23 - yes it is summer but you are sat in an office not the beach and others should be able to wear normal office attire and a cardy is not a hardship.

The problem is that people are usually able to add more clothes than they can take off. I can see why people might not like to wear fingerless gloves in an office, but at least that's an actual possibility. But you can only get so naked! So the heat haters have to win out really. I consider myself neutral as I whine equally about both cold and heat. I just don't like weather generally...

I keep the ac at 16 in my office but thats because (1) there are no windows so I cant just open one and (2) people like to come in and chat so I keep it cold to keep the conversations short.

Snowball studies have been done, Bookish is on the right track. How Temperature Affects You. When people are too cold their productivity decreases.

In winter when it is cold outside and people are dressed warmly 18C would be ideal for some, not everyone, certainly not me. During the hotter weather people are dressed in less clothes and because the outside temperature is hot outside most people would be more comfortable in higher temperatures in the office.

Seriously though, if you are boiling hot in temperatures of around 21/22 despite wearing light cotton underwear, a loose short sleeved cotton top and a thin cotton skirt with no tights then a visit to the GP is probably in order.

muldje that sounds right. I slow down at work when it's cold. My body is overwhelmed with the chill and trying to keep warm, it can't concentrate on spreadsheets.

I agree with muldje. When I am cold I can't concentrate on anything other than how to get warm.

That's another thing! When the weather says it's 20 degrees outside then I'm wearing cropped trousers and sleeveless tops and and very comfortable but when it says 20 degrees inside it doesn't seem as warm.

That article linked to by Muldjewangk actually shows that higher temperatures are even worse in terms of productivity. 18 is too low, but once you get beyond 24, things are at least as bad.

wafflyversatile Aircon can make it seem cooler for a given temp by reducing humidity. Dunno about you, but I often find I've got warm on the way to work (walking etc), and then cool down once I'm sitting still.

Yep, I said the same further up.

Is it the same in winter with the heating on? Cold in allegedly 21 degree office wearing layers.

Well. Last winter I was sat under the aircon and people kept turning it up to 30 - equally selfish - I had a thermometer on my desk and it was often at 26 at my desk - I was sweltering and unable to concentrate due to feeling sick and sweaty - in winter but if I turned it down to 25 and it got down to 23 at my desk I had people complaining that they were cold at their desks - that wasn't fair either - it goes both ways in offices and the person under the aircon gets the brunt of it.

Never mind you can please all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time. With a/c you can't please any of the people any of the time!

18 isn't cold, surely? We set our heating to that at home

I set it to that at home, actually 17 but I sit in jimjams and a fluffy dressing gown.

It is cold if you're sat being sedantry at a desk.

I set it to that at home, actually 17 but I sit in jimjams and a fluffy dressing gown.

It is cold if you're sat being sedantary at a desk.

oops.

YANBU. There are about four days a year when ac is useful in England, the rest of the time there is just no need for it.

There is in our place. Huge, east-facing windows in big offices means that it's frequently boiling when we get in in the morning, so the ac will go on first thing, and then be adjusted later on as required. We consult each other before adjusting the ac, it's only fair.

For times when I'm hot/flushing and the others aren't, I have a little desk fan pointed just at me. Seems to work out well.

I'm in a hot country, the air con is set to 23 year round. Some people still wear jumpers, coats/scarves/uggs.

I'm guessing that 23 feels cold if you're in a hot country!

I've never worked anywhere with air con and I'm quite jealous that everyone else seems to have it. I agree that 18 degrees is too cold though. Not only will it be uncomfortable for some people but it's a waste of electricity.