Just put some bloody clothes on if you're cold....

[woolythoughts]

Just that.

Air conditioning wars.

Office I work in is run by a south american, has two Italians, and a lot of British hot house flowers.

The temperature regularly gets up to 27/28 in here (its an all glass building) but within five minutes of turning the air con on, all we get is "its cold".

Me and one other person are working in light cotton trousers and light vests - nothing else. We literally cannot take any more clothes off and be decent. We have mini personal desk fans which help a little.

The problem doesn't end in winter though. Then they want to crank the heating up to 28 and we'd be quite happy with the window open -but we are willing to compromise at 22. But thats not warm enough apparently.

So we have to suffer feeling ill and tired just because they don't want to wear a cardigan in summer.

How cold is your office exactly? If it's above 16/18degrees and your fingers are going blue then I'd see a doctor.

I thought air con didn't work with the windows open anyway.

I’m always cold at work. At this moment I have a dress, jacket, and tights on as well as a blanket over my knees and (no joke) an electric heating pad. I’m sipping a giant hot coffee to stem the chill. I work in a typical aircon corporate office.

I cannot ever get warm enough.

I do understand that you can’t get cool enough, but it really is t as simple as just putting more clothes on!

(I’m healthy, normal weight and I exercise, so I can’t do much there either)

20/21 is fine in my house. When it’s a draught blowing on you it’s very unpleasant. I always dress warm but used to have a fan heater under my desk as I hated the draught. I used to commute on HS1 and often complained about how cold it was - set to ‘ambient’ temperature of 21 apparently, but feels very different when it’s being blown at you. I hate air con in the car for the same reason - a freezing cold draught blown at you at top speed. It’s never THAT warm in the UK!

Ages ago I used to work with a woman who would sit there in a mini skirt and sleeveless top (and ugg boots, admittedly) in the middle of winter. There were two heaters in her room as well, in a company where we didn't have enough of them, and she was very protective over them. They had her name on. She was also senior enough to be able to get away with that, too. The rest of us were in cold offices and her room was like a sauna.

The company went bust not long after I left. I don't know precisely why, but I always wondered if her doubtless massive heating bills had been the final straw.

@kaytee87 Exactly! It's so stupid to have the windows open and the air con on, which I've pointed out many times. Our ceilings are quite low, so when the air con is turned on right above my desk it's like a bloody freezing gale blasting down on me.

@eniledam

I'm already compromising at 21!

Ideally I'd set the air con to 16! But I knwo that is unreasonable so I don't

28 C (82 F!) is a ludicrous temperature to be working in. YANBU.

What a bunch of eejits they sound.

The people who are too hot should always win out over those that are too cold.

If you are too hot, there's only so many clothes you can take off... If you're too cold, you can keep putting layers on until you're warm enough.

Weird maybe, but I feel the cold now a lot more that I am menopausal. When I was young and fit, I would be boiling in the offices I worked in.

Btw, to need my blanket, heated seat pad and coffee etc it is 23deg in my office.

But I get really cold because I sit here so still for so long. (You know, working)

16C is a BIT low. 18-19 is ok.

YAB massively U

It's summer, offices need a bit of aircon to adjust the heat from the equipment and people but not more. No, your colleagues shouldn't have to wear a jumper in the office.

The temperature should be pretty much the same as it is outside, so 20 degrees is way too cold if it's 25-26 in the street.

The temperature should be pretty much the same as it is outside, so 20 degrees is way too cold if it's 25-26 in the street.

I'll never be working in an office then. If it's 25-26 in the street, I expect it to be way cooler in buildings with Aircon.

But then, 20 degrees is "too hot" for me on the street, so... Maybe a me thing!

So her colleagues shouldn't have to wear a jumper on the office (like that's a bad thing?) but people who are too hot in minimal clothes should just suffer and sweat?

I think 22C is the accepted norm. I think they need to learn to adjust. We had air con wars at my last workplace where many staff were from a hotter climate. In the end the company issued a "rule" about the temperature setting haha

I like being chilly rather than hot and don't notice the cold much, but like others I really HATE air con. It's chilly, it dries me out, gives me terrible headaches and a sore throat. I think you need some large office fans instead.

I've done the air con wars many, many times.

I'm so glad now that I sit in my own office with its own heating system. All rooms here have an individual unit on the wall

Last time I was in a Premier Inn it was a nightmare. So, so hot that we both got a terrible night's sleep. Windows would not open (safety reasons?) and thermostat would not go below a certain temperature. Crazy!

Re temps above you can't go by temperature alone, you need to factor in whether the control unit is on the snowflake or the sun. 22 degrees on either are very different.

Air con is the most unhealthy thing in offices. Draw the blind on the sunny side, open the windows, it's utterly ridiculous to expect to force people to work in a fridge.
How many moaners actually have air con in their own house? Again, we are talking about the UK with 3 or 4 days of real "hot temperature", each country has different needs!

If you have Raynauds and aren't coping with 20-21 degrees, then its probably time to see your GP regarding medical treatment of it, especially if all the holistic methods aren't working enough and its affecting your life like that.

20 c is too cold? No way!

@ikeepaforkinmypurse

You wouldn't last 5 minutes in my office.

20 c is too cold? No way!
depends on the outdoor temperature, but at 20 I wear a jumper and a scarf in the office, and a jacket outside

Our office is always the same temperature - winter or summer, it's exactly the same.

In summer though, people come in to work in their flimsy summer clothing & then want the heat turned up.

No - dress appropriately for the conditions! If that means bringing a top to work then so be it.....