Sometimes the most basic of employee benefits are the most controversial: According to a new CareerBuilder survey, employees are hot and cold about their working environs, claiming that uncomfortable office temperature can dampen their productivity.
When participants in a recent survey were asked if temperature at work affected their ability to get work done, 22% of workers replied that a “too hot” work environment made it difficult to concentrate. Eleven percent of workers reported the same difficulty about a “too cold” work place.
Overall, more than a quarter (27%) of employees categorizes the temperature at the workplace as “too hot,” and 19% reported that the temperature was “too cold.” Fifty-four percent said it was “just right.”
Unfortunately, temperature preferences can cause office strife as 10% of workers reported fighting with a co-worker over the office temperature.
Though winter is upon us, many companies are turning down the thermostat to save money. Nearly one in five (19%) workers believes that their company has turned down the heat this year in an effort to cut costs.
“There are many factors that can affect work place productivity,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. “Everything from morale, burnout, and as our survey finds, temperature, can have an impact on workers’ ability to get their work done. If temperature is a concern, workers and employers can easily work together to find common ground so productivity does not suffer.”
Haefner proffers the following tips to maintain productivity regardless of temperature:
- Hot topic If one colleague prefers a steam room, while you prefer a subtle chill, don’t change the mercury meter behind one another’s backs. Instead, circulate an email gauging the population’s preference and try to work out a compromise.
- Layering The optimum way to prepare for a fluctuating office climate is to layer your clothing. That way, you can remove or add items so that you are comfortable and best able to complete your work.
- Find an alternative If you know that a particular time of day or space in the office is too warm or too cold for you to work productively, be proactive by finding an alternative. Talk to your manager about coming in earlier, moving to a conference room for a portion of the day or telecommuting.
