People Who Are Freezing In The Office Can’t Help But Complain On Twitter And Here Are 40 Of The Most Relatable Tweets
Working in a factory or a field is definitely back-breaking labor, dangerous, equally hot and cold, and physically demanding. Traditionally, white-collar office jobs have been seen as cushy, easy, and pretty safe to such a degree that more and more people now work in front of a screen from a chair.
The result is that many of us are starting to learn the hidden dangers of an office, particularly in the summer. It’s not the hot sun that gets you, it’s the oppressive, ever-blowing air conditioning units. So enjoy this collection of officer workers lamenting the cold and be sure to upvote your favorites.
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Let's start with the good because, for the unaware, it might look like AC is the greatest scourge to the office worker. In reality, these units are actually pretty important for survival, for example, in the US, heatwaves statistically are one of the most dangerous weather patterns. Without modern technology or very specific building methods, we would have to spend most of the summer hiding from the heat instead of working or relaxing.
Similarly, AC is pretty important for maintaining clean and sterile air in places where that is vital for human health. In general, dampness is rarely a good thing, but hospitals absolutely need to make sure that transmissible diseases don’t just go from floor to floor, infecting every patient. People with allergies are also recommended to use AC at home to limit the risks of exposure.
Now it’s pretty widespread and some areas would be close to unlivable without it. In the US, where AC has been around nearly everywhere since the 1970s, there are measurable demographic effects from its adoption. For example, the birth rate in spring used to be lower and heat-related deaths in summer used to be considerably higher. Particularly if one has an air-conditioned car, on an average day, you might only encounter the “real” weather when moving from a vehicle to a building.
I know how to not be cold anymore: 1. Don't have body And you're done
Despite office workers almost universally freezing from the AC (and this includes me), the overall productivity throughout the last few decades has improved, with some studies indicating that escaping the heat has brought about roughly 24% improvements in efficiency. So at least bosses and managers have a reason to keep their employees in near-winter temperatures, as it does seem to motivate them to keep going.
People think I'm crazy for wearing a sweater during the summer at work, but my station is right next to the coldest source of air. Takes my body a short bit to defrost before the armpits start pooling sweat.
While warm temperatures might end up making a person sleepy, cold temperatures might make them lethargic. In theory, the cold could entice workers to move around a bit more to stay warm, but in an office setting, there is only so much one can do. Working at a computer, even very animatedly, is really just a lot of finger movements, while the rest of you remains motionless and still.
I always hate it in the summer when the office is freezing cold because they have the AC on high.
The result is that office workers have a strange dress code, where they might wear multiple layers of clothing, and bring a blanket and even thermoses just to maintain a certain body temperature while sitting in the middle of an urban environment. If one has to commute home, again, such as yours truly, this means being seriously overdressed compared to everyone else around you.
@murdermittens if you are implying that climate change is not real then maybe visit canada
WTF? Setting the (elecricity guzzling) AC so high that you need the (electricity guzzling) space heater. Something's not right there...
The only consolation is that one now knows, through the magic of the internet, that we aren’t insane for shivering in the middle of June, dreaming about warm beverages, and wrapping blankets around ourselves at work. At some point, one has to wonder if there is a more efficient way to cool an office while simultaneously not having all the staff compare whose breath is more frosty.
And if you have anything that needs warming up you can put it outside
I’m of the opinion they’re set for the one guy who is stocky, and sweats in any temp over water freezing. Or for the one person having a mother of all hot flashes. My stepdad used to keep the house freezing. I asked if he did that to control the amount of snow he wanted to see.
Because you can always put on more clothes to get warmer, but people can only take off so many clothes to try and get cool, before they get fired.
We used to have an woman in AP who had the maintenance guy block the vent above her desk.
I would actually kill for an office job where I was cold enough to dress how I'm most comfortable all day, and my mental health absolutely TANKS when I'm too hot; so I really sympathise with everyone here being miserable, because I know how important it is to be a temperature that's comfortable for you.
Y'all, I have a HEATED MOUSE for the office (plus space heater & blanket) but the mouse makes a surprising difference since my hand is always exposed!
This is ridiculously ridiculous. Not the mouse. The fact you need one.
Load More Replies...This pisses me off to no end.With 9 months of cold weather waoting and praying for nice hit weather then having to spend those 3months dressed in wonter clothes for the office.Do these bloody thermostats not have like a 70 degree temp 🤬
Maintenance told me that they won't adjust it because it is best to maintain a regular temperature.
Load More Replies...My coldest winter was a summer in American AC /s You guys have really gone crazy with that. There must be à way to make the inside temp bearable without freezing your bones. Besides, every calorie that's removed from the air inside gets added to the air outside, so by overdoing the AC, you're making the air outside even hotter...
Some of these are quite funny to read until you remember that the US is the second highest energy consuming country in the world. These companies are setting the AC so low their employees are physically uncomfortable and wasting a ton of energy in the process. SMH.
Load More Replies...One of the main causes for this is the historical expectation that men will wear a suit in the office. So with multiple thick layers from toe to neck it's hardly surprising that they want the office cooler - simple solution is to normalise the wearing of shorts and T-shirts in the office environment.
I actually work in an office where this is the case and it's *still* f-ing freezing.
Load More Replies...I've always had issues with being cold regardless of my weight but I've also developed heat intolerance due to autoimmune stuff as well as had hot flushes and flashes because of hormones and so at least from my experience I'd like to say that one intolerance doesn't trump the other. They're both miserable. Though I think people underestimate how painful cold intolerance is. And "putting on extra clothes" is not all that effective. If it was people wouldn't need gloves, spaceheaters, handwarmers, or to sit in their sweltering cars to compensate. You shouldn't have a work environment where a bunch of people are sitting in blankets. For those comments that say you can't mitigate heat, personal fans, cold neck compresses, cooling shoe inserts etc exist. The office running cold should not be the default. There may be no happy medium but there is a medium which is more fair to everyone. That way everyone can learn to adjust.
With the US I can't escape the feeling that things could change for the better if the majority didn't keep silent or just complained anonymously online. A very vocal minority is making sure the country gets more stupid by the day. Get together and refuse to work in an office that's freezing. Get together and refuse to buy products from companies that treat their workers like exchangeable resources.
The thing about a cold office though is that people can put on more clothes to get warmer, but there's only so many clothes people can take off to get cooler, until they get fired. XD
Load More Replies...My in laws keep their ac very cold, so I am familiar with the experience of having to wear jumpers in 90 degree weather. It’s such a waste, I don’t understand it.
I’m on the opposite side and wouldn’t have noticed if it were too cold, but for several years I worked in a lab where several people would wear winter coats and fingerless gloves — because we were programmers and engineers and needed to constantly access test data and tweak our software.
Lots of simple biology involved. Most men have greater muscle mass, less adipose (fat) tissue, different BMI indicators, muscle mass helps with heat production, muscle has better circulation. Yes, I am generalizing but most anatomy/physiology studies show these factors. Women have less muscle mass, higher adipose tissue, (biologically goes back to being able to support pregnancy and nursing baby). BMI is different, adipose tissue has much less circulation so harder to keep warm. As you get cold, your body will pull circulation back to primary needs of your body, brain, heart, internal organs thus making extremities feel even colder. Hopes that helps someone understand why women are usually colder than men. But don't yell at the message, remember not everyone fits in certain categories.
My office is in an area that was a huge open space but they added our offices with zero changes to the AC set up. I am also on the side that doesn't get sun until evening hours. I stuck a temperature gauge, it's typically 64 F when I come in, if I open my door I can get to 66. When I did raise it high enough to get action, it would be 84! I really think maintenance is messing with me or I am being subjected to some kind of psychological experiment.
Given how much electricity air conditioning uses, you'd think building managers would have an incentive to not overdo it. That being said, it's not always easy to keep a large building evenly heated and cooled throughout. There will always be pockets where the temperature doesn't match the thermostat readings.
Personally, I like a cool office. I hate feeling stuffy when trying to work. It's so mentally draining and literally sleep inducing. It's easier for someone to just put on a sweater than it is to try and get cool when already wearing a bare minimum. Again, just a personal preference and I understand why people would want a warm office. But it's already so annoying when I'm dressed for cold weather only to get on my crowded train where it's 80 degrees and I'm just pouring sweat. I don't want a similar situation in my office. Again, it's just my preference and not a personal attack on you.
There are two types of people: polar bears and lizards. Polar bears can't get cool enough and lizards can't get warm enough.
Offices need to turn up the thermostat to 77 in summer. When it's set at 74 the cold air blows constantly trying to keep the temp down. Which makes you feel like your freezing. It also causes power supply issues. 77 is actually much more comfortable on a hot day than 74.
If the aircon is operated via a remote control it is worth getting a smartphone with an infra red transmitter, the included apps will have settings for many devices. hint hint
I WfH but my dumbass has my office in my basement where it's jus naturally cold. Every summer before emerging from below I have to remember to take off my sweater, blanket cape and house coat before going upstairs and getting smacked in the face by a wall of humidity 🤣
I worked where we had a Director of Administration/HR, basically 3rd in line under the company president & vice president. She was an absolute f*cking b*tch and thought she was above everyone else (until it was made pretty clear that I, a lowly admin assistant, was the one correcting her spelling & grammar in office wide memos because her emails were atrocious. I got promoted to Exec Asst to the VP - which basically made us equals - she was P*SSED) Anyway, she was in her mid-late 40s and going through menopause. The office thermostat was set to 63° for the entire week the P & VP were out. The President got in earlier than everyone else when he got back & turned the thermostat up to 72° until the breath fogging cold dissipated. She got a SERIOUS lecture about the comfort of EVERYONE, not just herself and we all snickered about it for days.
And then there's the other end of the spectrum where you work in a restaurant and there's absolutely no air conditioning
In Las Vegas, people would laugh at me because I would carry around a light jacket or sweater during the summer. It would be over 100F outside but the minute you walk into a Casino or even some one's house, you would freeze in your tank top and shorts! I heard that some places won't allow personal space heaters because the electrical load would be too much in the circuits. So everyone is miserable except for the few who can live with the cold.
This is so ridiculous. This cold is not needed for any sensible reason (note also that most people complaining -rightly- are women, ac’s are set on what’s comfortable for most men), it’s actively hurting the environment. start with a few degrees more and help everyone please
Used to work in a warehouse was hot in the summer and cold in the winter even though we technically had heating and air conditioning. Somedays all the workers wore thier winter coats inside and passed around hot hands like pieces of gum.
I run hot so I love chilly AC. I’ll trade with anyone who doesn’t like it
The intern bay at the office I work at has no air conditioning, it's so cold that I have a blanket, a scarf, a coat, earmuffs and gloves sitting in the office every day for when I sit at my desk. We've been asking admin for an AC and they have been making empty promises since October last year. My office mate and I both had bad colds last week, and still nothing is being done about it. I think they are waiting for us to turn into human popsicles to actually buy us an AC. I sound like a broken record at every Monday meeting asking for the AC. I'm done singing my AC song now. I'm sorry all, I had to rant and I found the perfect outlet, please forgive my long rant :-)
I'm surprised no one mentioned grocery stores. The one here make it so cold people bring jackets. It's always around 90 outside.
I once worked in an office that was soooooooooooooo cold that every morning I had to scrape the frost off the windows. In the old days, computer labs were kept really cold because the equipment would over heat. When desktops and windows etal came about, the IT director thought you had to keep the the stuff as cold as the main frames. It took me months to get him with the plan.
I am officially going to work in an office now. (I'm used to it since my dad always puts the ac on like 62°F)
Ok, let me get this correct. It's warm outside. Airconditioning is set to a very low temperature. People have to wear warm clothes inside. You don't see the problem. 1) Too many changes in temperature are not good for your body. Your body won't adjust to either the heat outside or the cold inside. 2) You're wasting a very large amount of energy, a scarce resource.
Load More Replies...I would actually kill for an office job where I was cold enough to dress how I'm most comfortable all day, and my mental health absolutely TANKS when I'm too hot; so I really sympathise with everyone here being miserable, because I know how important it is to be a temperature that's comfortable for you.
Y'all, I have a HEATED MOUSE for the office (plus space heater & blanket) but the mouse makes a surprising difference since my hand is always exposed!
This is ridiculously ridiculous. Not the mouse. The fact you need one.
Load More Replies...This pisses me off to no end.With 9 months of cold weather waoting and praying for nice hit weather then having to spend those 3months dressed in wonter clothes for the office.Do these bloody thermostats not have like a 70 degree temp 🤬
Maintenance told me that they won't adjust it because it is best to maintain a regular temperature.
Load More Replies...My coldest winter was a summer in American AC /s You guys have really gone crazy with that. There must be à way to make the inside temp bearable without freezing your bones. Besides, every calorie that's removed from the air inside gets added to the air outside, so by overdoing the AC, you're making the air outside even hotter...
Some of these are quite funny to read until you remember that the US is the second highest energy consuming country in the world. These companies are setting the AC so low their employees are physically uncomfortable and wasting a ton of energy in the process. SMH.
Load More Replies...One of the main causes for this is the historical expectation that men will wear a suit in the office. So with multiple thick layers from toe to neck it's hardly surprising that they want the office cooler - simple solution is to normalise the wearing of shorts and T-shirts in the office environment.
I actually work in an office where this is the case and it's *still* f-ing freezing.
Load More Replies...I've always had issues with being cold regardless of my weight but I've also developed heat intolerance due to autoimmune stuff as well as had hot flushes and flashes because of hormones and so at least from my experience I'd like to say that one intolerance doesn't trump the other. They're both miserable. Though I think people underestimate how painful cold intolerance is. And "putting on extra clothes" is not all that effective. If it was people wouldn't need gloves, spaceheaters, handwarmers, or to sit in their sweltering cars to compensate. You shouldn't have a work environment where a bunch of people are sitting in blankets. For those comments that say you can't mitigate heat, personal fans, cold neck compresses, cooling shoe inserts etc exist. The office running cold should not be the default. There may be no happy medium but there is a medium which is more fair to everyone. That way everyone can learn to adjust.
With the US I can't escape the feeling that things could change for the better if the majority didn't keep silent or just complained anonymously online. A very vocal minority is making sure the country gets more stupid by the day. Get together and refuse to work in an office that's freezing. Get together and refuse to buy products from companies that treat their workers like exchangeable resources.
The thing about a cold office though is that people can put on more clothes to get warmer, but there's only so many clothes people can take off to get cooler, until they get fired. XD
Load More Replies...My in laws keep their ac very cold, so I am familiar with the experience of having to wear jumpers in 90 degree weather. It’s such a waste, I don’t understand it.
I’m on the opposite side and wouldn’t have noticed if it were too cold, but for several years I worked in a lab where several people would wear winter coats and fingerless gloves — because we were programmers and engineers and needed to constantly access test data and tweak our software.
Lots of simple biology involved. Most men have greater muscle mass, less adipose (fat) tissue, different BMI indicators, muscle mass helps with heat production, muscle has better circulation. Yes, I am generalizing but most anatomy/physiology studies show these factors. Women have less muscle mass, higher adipose tissue, (biologically goes back to being able to support pregnancy and nursing baby). BMI is different, adipose tissue has much less circulation so harder to keep warm. As you get cold, your body will pull circulation back to primary needs of your body, brain, heart, internal organs thus making extremities feel even colder. Hopes that helps someone understand why women are usually colder than men. But don't yell at the message, remember not everyone fits in certain categories.
My office is in an area that was a huge open space but they added our offices with zero changes to the AC set up. I am also on the side that doesn't get sun until evening hours. I stuck a temperature gauge, it's typically 64 F when I come in, if I open my door I can get to 66. When I did raise it high enough to get action, it would be 84! I really think maintenance is messing with me or I am being subjected to some kind of psychological experiment.
Given how much electricity air conditioning uses, you'd think building managers would have an incentive to not overdo it. That being said, it's not always easy to keep a large building evenly heated and cooled throughout. There will always be pockets where the temperature doesn't match the thermostat readings.
Personally, I like a cool office. I hate feeling stuffy when trying to work. It's so mentally draining and literally sleep inducing. It's easier for someone to just put on a sweater than it is to try and get cool when already wearing a bare minimum. Again, just a personal preference and I understand why people would want a warm office. But it's already so annoying when I'm dressed for cold weather only to get on my crowded train where it's 80 degrees and I'm just pouring sweat. I don't want a similar situation in my office. Again, it's just my preference and not a personal attack on you.
There are two types of people: polar bears and lizards. Polar bears can't get cool enough and lizards can't get warm enough.
Offices need to turn up the thermostat to 77 in summer. When it's set at 74 the cold air blows constantly trying to keep the temp down. Which makes you feel like your freezing. It also causes power supply issues. 77 is actually much more comfortable on a hot day than 74.
If the aircon is operated via a remote control it is worth getting a smartphone with an infra red transmitter, the included apps will have settings for many devices. hint hint
I WfH but my dumbass has my office in my basement where it's jus naturally cold. Every summer before emerging from below I have to remember to take off my sweater, blanket cape and house coat before going upstairs and getting smacked in the face by a wall of humidity 🤣
I worked where we had a Director of Administration/HR, basically 3rd in line under the company president & vice president. She was an absolute f*cking b*tch and thought she was above everyone else (until it was made pretty clear that I, a lowly admin assistant, was the one correcting her spelling & grammar in office wide memos because her emails were atrocious. I got promoted to Exec Asst to the VP - which basically made us equals - she was P*SSED) Anyway, she was in her mid-late 40s and going through menopause. The office thermostat was set to 63° for the entire week the P & VP were out. The President got in earlier than everyone else when he got back & turned the thermostat up to 72° until the breath fogging cold dissipated. She got a SERIOUS lecture about the comfort of EVERYONE, not just herself and we all snickered about it for days.
And then there's the other end of the spectrum where you work in a restaurant and there's absolutely no air conditioning
In Las Vegas, people would laugh at me because I would carry around a light jacket or sweater during the summer. It would be over 100F outside but the minute you walk into a Casino or even some one's house, you would freeze in your tank top and shorts! I heard that some places won't allow personal space heaters because the electrical load would be too much in the circuits. So everyone is miserable except for the few who can live with the cold.
This is so ridiculous. This cold is not needed for any sensible reason (note also that most people complaining -rightly- are women, ac’s are set on what’s comfortable for most men), it’s actively hurting the environment. start with a few degrees more and help everyone please
Used to work in a warehouse was hot in the summer and cold in the winter even though we technically had heating and air conditioning. Somedays all the workers wore thier winter coats inside and passed around hot hands like pieces of gum.
I run hot so I love chilly AC. I’ll trade with anyone who doesn’t like it
The intern bay at the office I work at has no air conditioning, it's so cold that I have a blanket, a scarf, a coat, earmuffs and gloves sitting in the office every day for when I sit at my desk. We've been asking admin for an AC and they have been making empty promises since October last year. My office mate and I both had bad colds last week, and still nothing is being done about it. I think they are waiting for us to turn into human popsicles to actually buy us an AC. I sound like a broken record at every Monday meeting asking for the AC. I'm done singing my AC song now. I'm sorry all, I had to rant and I found the perfect outlet, please forgive my long rant :-)
I'm surprised no one mentioned grocery stores. The one here make it so cold people bring jackets. It's always around 90 outside.
I once worked in an office that was soooooooooooooo cold that every morning I had to scrape the frost off the windows. In the old days, computer labs were kept really cold because the equipment would over heat. When desktops and windows etal came about, the IT director thought you had to keep the the stuff as cold as the main frames. It took me months to get him with the plan.
I am officially going to work in an office now. (I'm used to it since my dad always puts the ac on like 62°F)
Ok, let me get this correct. It's warm outside. Airconditioning is set to a very low temperature. People have to wear warm clothes inside. You don't see the problem. 1) Too many changes in temperature are not good for your body. Your body won't adjust to either the heat outside or the cold inside. 2) You're wasting a very large amount of energy, a scarce resource.
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