Too hot, too cold: The argument over the perfect office temperature heats up
By Lillie Hoffart, Environmental Science, 2022
The A/C vent blasts frigid air down from the ceiling. You are at your desk at co-op and wish you brought a second jacket; there is no way you can concentrate in the chill. You bring your project home after work, but just the opposite is the case at your dorm. The radiators are on full-blast, and there is no way you are getting work done here, either.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which oversees workplace safety standards, the temperature in any office workspace should fall within 68 to 76 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature range is calculated to ensure “thermal comfort” to the greatest number of employees. This means that an employee wearing a normal amount of clothing should feel neither too cold nor too warm. However, this recommendation is based on studies from over 30 years ago; OSHA references studies that took place from 1981 to 1988. Since then, the workplace has changed and it’s time for an update.
Women make up a considerable part of the workforce. From 1985 to 2015, the number of women in the civilian labor force increased by over 23 million, according to the US Department of Labor. It is well-documented that women perform better in warmer temperatures but men prefer colder temperatures, and as demographics shift, there is no longer a one-size-fits-all answer for the office climate. As demographics of the workplace change, the recommendations for how to most efficiently run a workplace should also.
As demographics of the workplace change, the recommendations for how to most efficiently run a workplace should also.
It has been repeatedly affirmed that people’s performance is affected by temperature, even more incentive to act on this issue. According to a 2004 study from Cornell University, the difference between working in a workplace with good and poor thermal comfort adds up. The study compared typing efficiency at 68 degrees and 77 degrees. At the chilly temperature, workers were typing 54 percent of the time with a 25 percent error rate, while at a more comfortable 77 degrees, they were typing 100 percent of the time with a 10 percent error rate. Researchers estimated that keeping a workspace at a more comfortable temperature could save employers about two dollars per worker per hour.
Researchers estimated that keeping a workspace at a more comfortable temperature could save employers about two dollars per worker per hour.
A study by Tom Chang and Agne Kajackite published in May of this year investigated the difference temperature plays in the performance of men versus women in office-like tasks. The study took over 500 participants and placed them in rooms with a range of temperatures — from 60.8 to 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The subjects were then tasked with math (adding numbers), verbal (rearranging letters into words), and cognitive (solving logic puzzles) tests. The performance results were then analyzed with respect to temperature.
As expected, women’s performance went up with an increase of temperature, and men’s performance decreased, though women were significantly more affected. A two degree increase in temperature resulted in a 1.76 increase in math accuracy in women. On the other hand, men performed with a statistically insignificant 0.63 decrease accuracy. Verbal tasks followed the same trend, and cognitive tests were not affected. The warmer the room, the more efficient overall work was completed, given an equal gender distribution.
However, in an interview with NPR, Chang said the main takeaway from this experiment wasn’t simply that office temperatures should be warmer.
“I think, if anything, what I want people to take away from this study is that we’re all a little different here and that one size doesn’t fit all,” he said. “More broadly, I think we should be more aware that environmental factors, like temperature, have a much bigger impact on your day-to-day lives than we generally give them credit for.”
Instead of one person controlling the thermostat, causing workers to sweat through their shirts or pile on the sweaters, temperature should be an easily adjustable and not a one-size-fits-all solution. This will not only improve productivity, but also the overall comfort of the employees.
