I enjoy ice cream, ice cream sodas, ice cream sundaes, and frosties.
I like iced coffee, ice tea, ice lemonade, and frozen daiquiris.
But I don’t enjoy a frozen office! In our northern region, it seems that once winter turns to summer, businesses turn their HVAC systems from a comfortable working temperature to a frigid one. I know that ours does! I read an article that stated that sixty percent of government employees had a problem with the temperature of their offices. Another study found that offices that are kept at 68 degrees lead to an error rate among employees of over 25 percent. Most office temperatures are based on a building code set by heating, refrigerating and air-conditioning engineers. Unfortunately, some of the building codes date back to a time when most office workers were comprised of men, whose standard dress was a business suit. It was found that the ideal office temperature for productivity is between 72 and 79 degrees. When thermostats are set cooler, productivity is reduced as employees hunt for another sweater or get up to make a cup of hot tea. And most office buildings are not functioning at full occupancy, yet their cooling systems are programmed as if they were, blasting more cold air than is actually needed. Many office heating and cooling systems are designed for older types of electronics, such as computers that used to give off more heat. So if your office has switched over to things such as energy-efficient and cooler LED lights, odds are that no one told your office cooling vents about it.
