A 'reasonable' temperature

[Welshbird]

In the UK there is no legal upper limit for office temperature, the legislation simply says that the temperature must be reasonable.

But what on earth is reasonable?

Currently the temperature at my desk is 33 (almost 34) degrees centigrade.

We have some portable air conditioning units, but quite frankly they aren't worth the space. I've just been to get more cold water from the cooler, and waling back into the office one encounters the same wall of heat you get leaving a plane on your summer holidays to somewhere warm.

Any suggestions are hugely welcome! So far we are all drinking bucket-loads of water, and from tomorrow we are going to hae a rota for showering during the day-time.

I casn't concentrate, and its just making me into a grumpy melting analyst...

(It's made slightly worse for me, in that as a contractor, if I don't work I'm not paid, whereas some of the permies have gone home early.)

grumble
grumble
grumble....

Fee

"The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea." Isak Dinesen

 

[lespaul]

well after going to a temperature converter and finding out that 33 - 34 C is the equivalent of 91 - 93 F, I'd have to say that's NOT reasonable!

What are your options for reporting/addressing the issue? I suppose someone has said SOMETHING to SOMEONE?


Leslie

Have you met Hardy Heron?

 

[TheVampire]

Start shedding articles of clothing until thay get the point. Or put a wading pool beside your desk, fill it up with ice, and point a fan at it to blow the cool air at you.

 

[RiverGuy]

(It's made slightly worse for me, in that as a contractor, if I don't work I'm not paid, whereas some of the permies have gone home early.)

Do you work for yourself or a consulting company? If the latter, maybe you can give them a call and see if they will still pay you if you go home. Really, no one can be expected to work in 90 degree heat.

 

[SQLSister]

Can you ask to work from home until the temperature is reasonable?

"NOTHING is more important in a database than integrity." ESquared

 

[SQLSister]

Oh and remind them that the current temperatures are bad for the equipment and they wills tart having equipment failures soon. Companies who won't protect their employees from unacceptable conditions may be more solicitous of their machinery.

"NOTHING is more important in a database than integrity." ESquared

 

[Dollie]

This subject was just on one of the morning shows today. "Reasonable" can logically be considered the median between steaming and freezing, and I would say that it somewhere in the 70-80 F range (21 - 27 C). Is the AC broken? The temps you are working in are reasonable for cowboys, cable dogs, and Texans, but not inside an office.

 

[Bandenjamin]

That is unreasonable! Start strippin! I like the kiddie pool idea too. That can't be all bad

--Dan
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain

 

[AnotherHiggins]

Well I'll just stop complaining about my 'problem', then.

Outside, the highs have been up to 90 - 100 fahrenheit (29 - 32 centigrade) over the last few weeks. But sometimes it gets so cold in the office that my fingers start going numb and I have a hard time typing.

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[chiph]

Time to get a heated keyboard, anotherhiggins.


Chip .


____________________________________________________________________
www.chipholland.com

 

[ousoonerjoe]

Sister's right... check and see if you can tele-commute to work and stay home, or at least at the local Wi-Fi point. If not, then I would think "reasonable" dress for "reasonable" temps would be appropriate. Shorts and a t-shirt. At that kind of temperature, professionalism is gone out the door in terms of customers visiting. The systems will too if they stay in an area that hot. Most of our servers are set to shutdown at 95 F (about 35 C) to safeguard them from complete system failures. If the servers are in a temp controlled room, just relocate into that space... being cool and sitting on the floor sure beats your alternative.

"If I were to wake up with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am right now.

 

[Welshbird]

Thanks for all suggestions guys.

We're just about to have a meeting with the Health and Safety manager, and might just have to bring up the fact that my pod-colleague is 14 weeks pregnant. It's not helping her feel too healthy at all!

Fee

"The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea." Isak Dinesen

 

[shoalcreek]

It sounds like you should be able to organize some type of mutiny. I would think this would be something that everyone can agree on.

 

[flapeyre]

Fee,

I'm a bit late on this as I have been haveng problems posting to TT (since resolved), but:

I have, in the past, worked at a company which was in a warehouse. While the offices were air-conditioned (a must in Louisiana in the summertime), the adjoing warehouse was not. And if the a/c fails, it gets real hot, real fast. If that happened, they sent us home for the day. You can't be productive if you are not comfortable.

Maybe I'm spoiled - I have a car which I can remotely start, and it's nice and cool (or warm in the winter) when I open the door. But I have lived through a Louisiana summer when my A/C was complely out for three weeks in the middle of the summer. Maybe that explains why I'm so religious lately - I now know what hell is like .

"Reasonable" to me would be between 72 F and 75 F (22C to 25C).

Nullum gratuitum prandium.
--Sleipinir214

 

[KornGeek]

"Reasonable" to me would be between 72 F and 75 F (22C to 25C).

I agree. A place where I used to work liked to keep the thermostat at 68 (not unreasonable, but a little cooler than I'd prefer). Unfortunately, I sat right under the AC duct and would often get too cold.

 

[Opieo]

They keep our place colder than it should be most times.
We actually put tape over the ducts right above our desks.
This does not stop it from being cold in general, but it does stop the cold breeze blasting right down on us.
Now if only I could get away with dimming the light of the 1000 suns they have 5 ft above us ... (way too many flourescent lights)

~
Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.

 

[Welshbird]

We've just got the maintenance block to remove the starters from the lights directly above us - in the hope it might get slightly cooler, but it's currently 32.4 degrees (90.4 for you other chaps) and just plain horrid.

Fee

"The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea." Isak Dinesen

 

[tekskin]

Hi everyone, according to Health & Safety guidelines, I believe that the reasonable temperature should be between 18 - 27 degrees Celsius.

Check out this link --->

http://www.tgwu.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=89314

In regards to your pregnant colleague, a note from the doctor explaining the issues for pregant women and high temperatures may help.

Now, where did I put my ice lolly......

Kevin

 

[strongm]

I believe Fee's already aware of that document; we've also been discussing this in thread1091-1490105.

 

[mrdenny]

Fee,
I feel your pain, just for a limited number of hours per day. The building I work in is a medical building, and everyone except us closes up shop at 5pm so building management turns the AC off at 5:30 sharp every day because they are cheap b*st*rds. Durning the day the office stays comfie, but by 6 the office will be easily 90F (32C) as our side of the building faces west and gets the direct sun light.

As there are only two of us in the office at the time (usually) we went out and bought a small AC unit (a 5 ton I believe) that sits in the office the two of us share to keep us from melting. We've forgotten to turn it on before and we've seen the office hit 95F (35C) before.

I would definitely start with a call to the consulting agent you work for. A note from your doctor on any health hazards which you may have which don't like the heat may also help.

Best of luck.

Denny
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