I take a multilayered approach to staying comfortable in hyper-air-conditioned spaces where I will spend most of the day. A cashmere cardigan, corduroy jacket, or leather jacket goes into my bag in the morning, and as a second-tier defense, two wool shawls are on site.
Extreme air conditioning in offices has been called “women’s winter.” Researchers now believe that the reason women, in general (not all women necessarily), are colder than men in air-conditioned offices is the result of differences in metabolic rates.
Temperature and Work Performance
“Office temperatures are based on the metabolic rates of men, which explains why many women say they need to bring sweaters and scarves to the office to keep warm,” Aimee Picchi reported in a CBS MoneyWatch post from 2019.
Research shows that not only are over-air-conditioned offices uncomfortable for many women, but that being too cold can adversely impact women’s work performance.
Picchi reports that researchers Tom Chang of USC’s Marshall School of Business and Agne Kajackaite at Germany’s WZB Berlin Social Science Center found:
- Women increased their performance on math problems by 1.76 percent for every 1.8- degree increase in temperature.
- Men’s cognitive abilities weren’t as impacted by warmer temperatures.
- The findings suggest mixed-gender offices should increase their temperatures.
Other Factors
That said, temperature is just one dimension of staying comfortable in an office. Here are some other factors to consider:
- An Office Equivalent of the Quiet Car
Think about the impact of noise. Some people thrive in a quiet environment surrounded by others who are working diligently (and mostly independently), while others prefer to sit in sections of the office where there will be frequent interaction and conversation. Ongoing noise is no bother to them—they welcome it.
Making noise-level preference a factor in determining where an employee is assigned to sit could be helpful.
- Room with a View
A window is a nice-to-have for almost everyone, but it may be more important to some. Some people are sensitive to feelings of claustrophobia. For those people, being able to look out a window—even one located down an aisle of workstations from them—can be helpful.
- Restroom Proximity
Proximity to a restroom can be important for employees with certain medical conditions, whether temporary or permanent, with long walks multiple times a day a problem for some. In some cases, there may be issues with not being able to make the “commute” to the restroom with comfortable time to spare when the need arises.
- Adequate Privacy
For some employees, privacy is a must due to the kind of work they are doing. If an office can’t be provided for them, they should sit spaced as much as possible away from other employees and should have high barriers around their desk.
With data privacy a growing concern in our Internet-based world, I wonder whether all employees shouldn’t be offered the option for high barriers around their desks. It can be comforting in a world where access to personal information is too easy to attain to be able to have a sense of secure privacy at the office.
- Missing Persons
Being in an office with the people you most frequently collaborate with also is essential. Employees can become frustrated if they commute an hour or more to the office and then have to do a video-based meeting with colleagues because they are working from home that day. A system that ensures employees are never in that position can increase satisfaction with work environments.
- Closed-Door Meeting Space
Having easy access to in-person meeting space also is important. What if you commute to an office and your colleagues are right there with you, but you have no place to gather with them because employees unhappy with their workstations commandeered the conference rooms to serve as their offices?
When employees are uncomfortable with their workstations for whatever reason—be it temperature, noise, lack of privacy, or another irritation—they will come up with their own solutions. Those solutions may cause additional discomfort for colleagues, creating a discomfort domino effect.
Do you think about how to create an office that is physically and psychologically comfortable for most employees? What improvements made the greatest positive difference in your office(s)?