Currently, I'm pregnant. The fact that I'm pregnant means that I'm warm pretty much all the time. Also, the fact that my area of the country has seen record-high temperatures for the past month or so means that I am extra warm. Take those things and add the fact that even when I'm NOT pregnant, I'm usually warm... and that's sort of a temperature disaster (for me, anyways).
There are literally only 8 people that sit in my area of the office (the rest of the building's occupants are split up into 2 more large office areas and multiple laboratories), so most of the guys I sit with are willing to deal with the temperature set slightly lower in my area of the building than the others. And when I say "slightly lower" I mean that while the rest of the building is set at 73F in the summer, I sometimes bump the thermostat down to 72F or (GASP!) 71F.
I don't know about you, but I feel like 73F via air conditioning in the summer is still pretty warm for an office building. It is especially warm if you're out in the lab moving around and doing work and when you return to your desk to cool off, you can't really do that because 73F is really not that cool. Of the 8 people in my office area, there's my pregnant self and a menopausal woman, and neither of us mind the cooler temperatures. In fact, she welcomes it! Of the other 6 males, 4 don't really say anything, one guy minds but doesn't really speak up about it (or wears a lab coat or a thicker shirt), and the other guy constantly complains about it being "SO COLD in here".
The complainer sort of has no room to complain, in my opinion. He exercises like it's going out of style, has about 5% body fat, and is older and bald - bald, as in, has absolutely NO HAIR on top of his head. If he had some hair, he'd have something to keep the heat in! I also find it interesting that some guys are complaining about the temperature being too cold. Generally it's the womenfolk who don't hardly get up and move around that are the main complainers... and they're ALWAYS cold in the winter (and I never hear the end of THAT, either, but that's another post for another time).
Now when I turn it down to 71F, that feels really nice and cool to me. I will really only do that if we have some 90F+ days outside because the air conditioning can't keep up in the office that well when it's that hot outside. Today, for example, it didn't even reach 80F outside - I didn't touch the thermostat, but I was a bit warm. To combat the effects of the complainer voicing his opinion, I have even gone as far as to install a small fan on my desk to blow on me to keep me cool. This also serves as a bit of white noise, which helps me stay focused and drowns out the other annoyances of the office.
I think what irritates me most is that everyone has to comment about it. "Ohhhh, it's so cold in here!" or, "Geez, I forgot to bring my coat today" or some other sarcastic comment about the temperature. Suck it up, bitches. It IS NOT that cold! If you live in a part of the country that experiences all four seasons, you should be prepared for anything.
When it comes to office temperature, don't you think the temperature should be a little colder as opposed to warm? When it is cooler in the office, you can always layer up. When it is warmer in the office, you can't really remove too many layers. Plus, when it is too warm, people start to sweat and then it starts to stink. I don't know about you, but I would prefer NOT to bask in the scent of my coworkers.
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