Have you ever walked into a company and noticed that the person in the front desk is hunched over, wearing three sweaters, and greets you with an ice-cold handshake – in August?
According to a 2009 study, employees’ top complaint is being cold at work — including during the summer. Do you see sweaters left on the backs of chairs or hear the hum of space heaters beneath people’s desks?
Take a quick look around you and tell me in comments – how many sweaters do you count on the back of chairs? (At a quick glance around my own area, I see five sweaters, jackets or wraps out of eight chairs.)
These cold offices are evidence of a brewing Thermostat War. Some employees are freezing while others are sweltering. Some could care less. But the very literal work environment is a big part of how we work. When you are cold, you leave your desk in search of hot beverages; you’re lonely or view coworkers around you as distant; and you don’t recognize others’ work because you are physically and psychologically withdrawn.
The idea of WorkHuman recognizes the humanity in employees. Employees are not robots. They need nourishment (coffee), friends (amiable coworkers), encouragement (recognition), and, yes, climate control (comfortable temperatures).
According to a Cornell University study, employees made 44 percent more mistakes when room temperature was 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) or less. (Optimal temperature was determined to be 77 degrees Fahrenheit/25 degrees Celsius.)
Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, noted when humans are in work environments below 70 degrees they are 4 to 10 percent less productive.
Companies may think they are saving money keeping temperatures low, but U.S. buildings alone could save $40 billion over seven years if theyworked on energy efficiency.
Psychological effects
Sally Augustin, Ph.D., an environmental psychologist and principal at Design With Science, says, “Being in a space at a particular temperature is one of those situations where reality can take a back seat to perceptions of reality.”
When it’s cold you can think your employer doesn’t care about your basic human needs — or you can believe your employer to be sexist or ageist. You can resent co-workers who turn the thermostat down or don’t notice the cold. You can feel lack of control over your environment (Lister even mentioned “at least one company that installed fake thermostats saw job satisfaction go up”).
Clients can perceive your company as callous when their first impression of your office is seeing a greeter at the front desk suffering in a parka.
How comfortable are you at work? What are your co-workers wearing in summer and winter?
