To refuse to go into a hot and sweaty office

[Floofydawg]

I've been WFH full time since Covid but we now have a directive of two days a week in the office. I can do my job fully remotely with no problems. I've been going into the office as directed but last week the air conditioning in the office wasn't working and we weren't allowed to open any windows to let some air in. The office was very very hot. I ended up going home because I felt ill and had a headache from the heat (I did work when I got home). Manager is expecting us in the office later this week even though the aircon is not fixed and we've been warned it could be warmer due to the heatwave. AIBU to refuse to go in?

I would also add that I am struggling with menopause and not being able to regulate my body temperature. Not saying I should get special treatment however I do struggle with it. I'd rather be home where I can open my windows and let some air in.

So many breathtakingly unhelpful comments on here.

Not being able to tolerate heat isn’t ’princessy’ or entitled or lazy. It is also academic that many people work in hot environments/without aircon and some people work on building sites so have to tolerate high temps while they work. Whether they’re happy with this or not, some people’s tolerance of adverse working conditions don’t make that a ‘gold standard’ by which to judge everyone else.

Certain health conditions and medications (and, indeed, certain phenotypes such as redheads) mean you can have poor temperature regulation and can feel increasingly unwell when it’s hot. This is the case for me and the sum total is deeply unpleasant. I work extremely hard (no entitlement in sight) but the health impacts of heat are like illness. Fortunately I work for good people with a great HR team who don’t see the world in the polarised way some people on here seem to.

Quick suggestion for those people: have you ever thought about doing some charity work? Might help to reconnect you with the concept of empathy,

That’s irrelevant to what this thread is about. The OP is not feeling well, particularly in this weather, and the facilities at the office are worse than what she has at home. She’s got an issue with the lack of air con, she not trying to slack off.

The argument about skivers is that’s fine to have, but I don’t think that’s what this thread is about.

My issue with the OP was her intention to refuse to go into the office.

In the end she did the right thing and asked for a reasonable adjustment, which was granted.

Her AIBU was not to ask to WFH but to refuse to work in the office.

She was wrong to think about refusing to go in.

This.
Companies/organisations have a legal duty to provide a reasonable working environment, including limits to heat and fresh air.

I find hot sweaty classrooms full of teenagers hard, Windows open usually only a crack for safety issue so often like a sauna. I take a little powerful fan and walk around with it, open the doors and drink lots of water, still not pleasant. Xx

Semantics

There’s gets a bit hot, and there’s so hot you are visibly sweating and feeling ill. Everyone reacts differently and it is debilitating for some people.
I’ve never worked anywhere where you can’t open a window or have fans provided.

How many is “many” and how do you know?

Good luck.
I hope you get some relief from your symptoms.

Type 'Undetectable Mouse Jiggler' into Amazon and look how many they sell each month. It's 1000s.

How can this thread still be going? 😅

@Hateam
"Type 'Undetectable Mouse Jiggler' into Amazon and look how many they sell each month. It's 1000s."

How does this specifically affect you as a teacher?

I must be the only person wfh who doesn’t have a mouse jiggler how can there be a need for so many of them

And my employer doesn't use this kind of thing. As I'm judged on what I achieve not something like keys hit or mouse moved. Sometimes it's quiet, so I catch up with training. Other times it's manic, and I have to force myself to remember to go to the loo or have a cup of tea.

Yabu

What is the point of that question?
Are we only allowed to comment on issues that affect us?

I’m glad you’ve got it sorted but this isn’t semantics and you’d be wise to understand that sort of thing going forward. Initially your proposal was to breach your employment contract with no negotiation. As the post you’re quoting says you’ve now done the right thing for all parties concerned.

Oh FFS I can't believe people are referring to breaches of employment contract. Don't be ridiculous. We have people not go in for all-sorts of reasons. My boss himself doesn't always make it in. We're grown ups, and it's known that just because we're not in the office, it doesn't mean we're not working.

I know, I don't know why people are so bothered about them!

They could even have been purchased because the work at home employee has been so productive at home that they have completed all their tasks in fewer hours (no office chats or distractions). But due to micromanaging policies, they are forced to sit at their computer anyway and perhaps look at their phone for a bit or whatever. They are still doing their job!

It’s the sheer number of them available and reviewed that made my head spin a bit so many jigglers have been bought

Looking through some reviews it seems a lot have been bought due to some companies (especially financial) requiring you to lock your screen if you are going to be in active for more than 20 seconds (yes 20 seconds) or it forces you to relog back in.

The loonies are all out on your post OP.
I love WFH, it's changed my life. I do all sorts of chores during the day, well mainly putting washing on drying it and putting it away, taking the dog for a walk, none of which I can do in the office, tidying up a bit, doing the school run, all often while actually on work calls.
But despite this I am far more productive when I am WFH; I start earlier, finish later and am far happier.
If we had to go back to the office full time, I'd quit immediately.

Anyway total digression, OP. Glad you got a reprieve this week. Apparently next week it's going to cool down a bit and your office air con might even be fixed. I was in the office today and mine was set to baltic temperatures.

I'm almost 65 and have never encountered any woman who was driven out of the workforce because of menopause. Other than an occasional grumble the women I've worked with just carried on as usual.

I'm almost 65 and have never encountered any woman who was driven out of the workforce because of menopause. Other than an occasional grumble the women I've worked with just carried on as usual

@ForGreyKoala that's either luck or the fact that when women (or men) get pushed out it’s usually because they’re ’leaving To pursue other avenues’ or some such shit.

That is one anecdote only, and you don't know how many women you would've met if they hadn't had to leave, iyswim.

There's a lot out there about this. It is a thing. This parliamentary committee heard it was 900,000.

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/91/report.html#heading-6