Why is my office so cold? Elements that contribute to well-being in workplaces
If you have to spend most of the day in the office for work reasons, you probably know that you have to spend certain days when it is too cold or too hot. While some of your colleagues complain that the office is a real sauna, others say it’s impossible to survive the winter without a good blanket and a heater. In most cases, the debates about the ideal temperature never end in agreements, and there are even those who can never agree on the average temperature at which the air conditioning should be so that everyone feels comfortable. The truth is that the feeling of comfort varies a lot from person to person and that’s a problem in shared spaces. Same goes for lighting Have you ever been in a conference room with too much light or too dim lighting that made you uncomfortable?
When you think about the interior design of workplaces, the obvious elements come to mind: the organization, the furniture, the finishes, the colors, and any other aspect of the space that adds to the overall experience. As relevant as these physical details are in workplace design, the conditions that really make an office the ideal place for your employees are often underestimated or neglected.
In 2015, a survey found that 42% of workers in the United States feel their workplace is too hot, while 56% of respondents say it is often cold in their work environment. While advances in technology allow us to more precisely control and adjust the temperature of a room at the touch of a button, the problem with shared spaces is that it is more difficult to determine what this ideal temperature should be. In general, this great contrast of opinion is due to the fact that the calculation to determine what people’s thermal comfort conditions are is linked to quite outdated mathematical models, such as those defined by the ASHRAE 55 standard, one of the most common buildings. codes used in America, and also one of the oldest. As architects learn to calculate in college, the model for assessing a person’s thermal comfort condition in a work environment is based on data about how a man in a suit and tie feels in his mechanically furnished office. The problem, quite obvious in my opinion, is that not all workers are men, let alone wear a suit and tie every day. If we take into account how many of the female employees of a particular company dress in this way, and how many of them are not male, this calculation model obviously turns out to be flawed and inconsistent.
Almost as important as comfort from a temperature point of view, artificial lighting conditions also play an important role in feeling good at work. In a recently published study, the American Interior Design Society revealed that more than 65% of employees are dissatisfied with the lighting conditions in their workplaces. It’s quite a worrying statistic, especially since lighting has a significant impact on our productivity and not only that, but our physical and mental health as well. While the lights from our computer screens are usually very strong and tiring to our eyes, some other light sources can directly affect our body’s circadian rhythm, affect sleep, or boost our metabolism. Some designers prefer “warmer” or “cooler” light tones. The fact is that the lighting conditions in our living spaces have a decisive influence on how we feel and therefore also on the way we interact.
So what does the future hold for us? Will we ever stop arguing about the temperature in the office, or when to turn on the lights and close the curtains? The answer to these questions appears to be yes. As more researchers study the ways in which design affects people’s well-being, happiness and productivity in work environments, it seems that we are finally approaching that long-awaited consensus. Advances in technology also allow us to create more flexible environments in terms of temperature, allowing individuals to more easily adapt to the specifics of each job. Also, lighting design has changed from an eccentric exaggeration to a fundamental need, and more and more professionals are deciding to devote themselves to this line of research and design, working together to set new comfort standards and create more welcoming and stimulating spaces. Apparently it is only a matter of time.
This article is part of the ArchDaily topic of the month: Wellbeing in Indoors. Every month we explore a topic in depth through articles, interviews, news and plays. Read more about our topics. And as always, at ArchDaily, we value the contributions of our readers. Please contact us if you would like to submit an article or work.