My own experience a few years ago occurred at an organisation that believed it was leading the way. I’d started in February. By late March I was noticing come early afternoon, it was unusually warm and I was yawning a lot (telltale sign I’m overheating), and comments were being made about this. “Are you ready for a nap” etc.
I was asked to have a chat in April about my yawning. Apparently it was off-putting (to my manager) and she’d been embarrassed because I’d been yawning in a meeting; it was unprofessional and people would think I was bored or being rude. I was asked if I was getting enough sleep, I wasn’t going out after work drinking, was I? Incouldn’t believe it. I fought my corner but ended up agreeing to an OH referral.
By this point a guy, who was also new, was also complaining about the temperature in the office. We found out from a longer serving colleague this particular office was the only one in the building where the air con didn’t work. They were also planning on changing the films on the windows, to keep out heat, because the existing ones had proven useless.
I brought all this up with the manager. Yeah, I get it, our office is hot but there’s not much I can do.” I suggested a desk fan. I was expecting a proper desk fan, as I’d had in other offices. No. I was given the tiniest USB powered fan you can imagine. Just as helpful as one of those old-school hand held ones like this .
I started taking in a digital thermometer that also measured relative humidity and leaving it on my desk. I’d check it throughout the day and was finding the temperature was getting up to 26C by 9:30/10am. Humidity levels were 78%+
The worst day in early May resulted in me going home, developing a really intense headache, feeling sick and having to go back out and buy rehydration powders. The following day it turned out another colleague had been experiencing the same symptoms and we had to drive yet another home, who reported a heat induced migraine.
So, yeah, I was the problem 😂
Occ Health doctor was very good. Explained what was going on and he said that’s heat stress or heat exhaustion. Told him about the usb fan and he laughed. The report came back - get a functional desk fan was one of the recommendations i.e. a polite way of saying one that actually does.
There were links to heat stress info and recommendations to let me have regular comfort breaks, including during meetings, when I experienced symptoms. Furthermore, that I should go and work in a cooler, air conditioned part of the building or from home where I could better control the temperature.
My manager got quite pissy about the report.. “I don’t think we can always accommodate the recommendarions.” I said to her politely we should at least explore them, to see if they made a difference. So I started working in meeting rooms or orher offices that weren’t in use and where the air con worked. I knew my manager resented this. Despite the fact I’d let her know where I was, she kept on saying, “I don’t know where you are,” and one day I was phoned, “are you still in the building?”
By this point I’d started looking for a new job. When I got one, our Head of Department asked to speak to me and I told her what had been going on. She seemed really annoyed when I mentioned it felt like I’d been accused of burning the candle at both ends and going out drinking on school nights.
I was emailed the following day by the HoD with my manager CC’d in. References were made to the OH advice and that I was to work wherever the recommendations could be best achieved!