As the summer months get hotter and hotter (I personally blame global warming for this summer's atrociousness), offices turn up the air conditioning and leave their employees literally shaking in their Uggs which they have to bring to work because it's so freakin' cold.
It's gotten so frigid at my company's office that I have resorted to using my crazy, might explode any minute lamp everyday because it gives off an insane/unhealthy amount of heat and warms my little shivering fingers as I work. As I was avoiding work by taking a "stroll" around the office yesterday, I also realized that my co-workers all do similar little things to keep the cold from affecting them on a daily basis. I loved all their ideas on how to stave off the cold. So here are my findings in neat little bullet points.
- Keep a blanket underneath your desk for particularly cold days. This little trick can even help in the winter when it's super duper cold outside (yes, I just said super duper).
- Pashminas are a classy and fashionable way to beat the cold. My office is a huge fan of White + Warren travel wraps. Yes, they are expensive but also toasty warm and look good on every body (seriously, Sisterhood of the Traveling Wrap).
- Some people even buy space heaters for their cubicles during the summer months. I find this a tad bit extreme but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to stay warm.
- Switch out your flip flops and open-toed sandals for slippers once you sit down for the day. Easy to slip on and off, they protect your toes from air conditioning.
- And if those little tips do nothing for you, my last suggestion is complain because if you say it enough you might just make a difference (and you'll become the office hero!).
Now I'm going to see if I can get HR to spring for a space heater for my cubicle because at this rate August will probably feel like a blizzard in February.
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32 comments:
Why is that office buildings turn on the AC full blast? I swear I can actually feel an ice cold wind blowing on me as I type. I am covered in goosebumps from head to toe. Sometimes, I even make cups of tea just to hold in my hands to keep them warm.
Good idea about the blanket. Maybe I'll bring my good old nsync blanket to keep my legs warm...and freak out my coworkers.
Ugh, i'm always cold in my office. I'm definitely bringing a blanket in. Thanks for the advice!
pam, you have an 'n sync blanket? wow.
my office is turning into the arctic as well. i always bring in a sweater to keep warm and occasionally just walk outside to warm up, it helps a bit.
I went to the doctor right before work yesterday, and the air conditioning in our office (which usually necessitates a jacket) screwed me up pretty bad in conjunction with the shot I just got. In the end, my hands shook uncontrollably and I couldn't use my left arm.
Just another day at the office...
keeping a blanket at work was a great idea!!
Oh absolutely I do. I think I got it for my birthday when I was 13...what a wonderful day it was.
There is always arguments in my office with regard to the air conditioning and I am always cold but I have got a cardi to wear to keep warm.
We cannot control he temperature in my office ( we're in a multi-tenant building and there's central AC only, no controls in individual offices)but I see it as a great opportunity to actually prove that the 14 pashminas I brought with me from India were not insanity ( as friends and family accused me), but I actually need them. I keep most of them at the office and wear that most appropriate in pattern and colour to my outfit each day.
so....we're using excessive air conditioning to combat temperatures caused by global warming which is caused, in pat, by our excessive use of air conditioning.
is anybody ELSE losing faith in humanity?
I wish it were cold in my office. It is so hot right now I'm sweating and it's not pretty. Yesterday the air actually broke and chaos ensued. Whereas in the winter it was extremely cold (they kept the air on!) and I actually wore a scarf, hat and fingerless gloves everyday.
I never understood why we can't just wear weather-appropriate clothing to work and forego the whole freezing in the summer, boiling in the winter problem.
If we weren't obligated to wear skirts to work (winter) or if we could wear spaghetti straps (summer) then we wouldn't have to crank the furnace/AC so much.
I think it's ridiculous.
Oh well. At least I can wear my slippers and turn on my space heater in the summer :S
I feel your pain here. My office is either so hot I can't breathe or so cold that I have on my hoodie over my cute outfit. It's ridic. PS - I have a space heater and I'm not afraid to use it!
This article was on the front page of my town (Columbus, OH)newspaper.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/07/18/0_AIR_CONDITIONING.ART_ART_07-18-08_A4_D6APII3.html?sid=101
Try a sip of Geritol® to stay warm!
Better than being hot? At least thats what I always think
You're blog is so funny! Haha i need to tell my dad some of those tips because i can't walk in his office without catching hypothermia.
Employers turn up the AC to make sure that their employees don't fall asleep. (At least that's what I was told!) It just isn't right.
HI!
I loved to know I was not the only girl frozzing at my office!! I drive at night with the heat direct to my feet trying to turn then alive again!!
Definetelly I will bring a blanket in starting tomorrow!!! Just imagine it, my desk is done with marble, so u can imagine how much cold it is, plus the "fridge AC" that is at my floor.. Just one thing is for sure.. I will be without a wrinkle in my face if I continue working here for a few more years!! hahahah
your page is wonderful, congratulations!!! From now u have another fan!!!!
Not in South Texas. Everyone is pretty content with 74 to 78 degrees in the work place. I guess that is because it's in the 90s to 100s outside. :)
Do you knit? I know where you can find a great free pattern for handwarmers.
It is always cold in my office, no matter what time of year it is. I keep a stash of sweaters in my desk drawer. I used one today. In balmy 91 degree MN heat, I was wearing a sweater.
Seriously.
can't really say the same about an office seeing as i'm in highschool.
but in my bio class the AC is up all the way in june.
it's a nice change but at the same time, you want the heat.
Can't you get them to turn the a/c down? Especially over getting a heater in...that's not very green...! If others in your office feel the same I think you should do something about it. Have a look here! http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/ethicalliving/2008/07/tsutomu_hata_was_ahead_of.html
I too use to use a space heater..just in the summer. Stupid. And emergency socks, to keep my feet warm. I would wear more sweaters in the summer than winter. I had an office where the window would not open. It was just plain dumb. I would call maintenance, the guys would come over and take instant temp readings "Well mamam, it's reading 70 here." "Well outside in 70 degrees I am not freezing to death." I came to the conclusion it was wind chill from the air being forced out.
wow. wow. that's insane! They must be spending sooo much in electricity, which is wasteful in far too many ways. They could probably turn it down several notches, and with the money they save, buy everyone lattes or trail mix or something. Put people in a good mood, and give them a little boost (ha!). If I were in your building, I would sneak around with a camera and photograph everyone who has to take drastic measures just to stay comfortable, and anonymously threaten to publish them on the internet and send them to all local news stations unless the company stopped being ridiculous and figured out a more efficient, human-friendly climate control equation. Ok, maybe not, but really--this chaps my hide!!!! I don't really like sensationalism or soap-boxing, but I *do* believe in people and corporations making small changes that will all add up to make our world better!
Ok so I just found your WONDERFUL blog...and had to laugh. As I scrolled down your page I heard someone in the office exclaim, it's cold in here...then I read the title of this post...freaky! Loving it!
I love this blog! I also am sitting in my office freezing just like most of you other poor souls! At all times I keep a sweater hanging behind my door, a blanket above my bookshelf, and a space heater under my desk! I find this ridiculous considering by the end of a 4 minute cig break outside I'm pooring in sweat! I do like the warm sock ideas, my toes are freezing in their flip flops today...
"is anybody ELSE losing their faith in humanity?" I was going to say maybe but after seeing who posed the question.. ["hookerbaby"] I am convinced. I have lost the faith.
I have a space heater under my desk right now and have had one at every office I've ever worked in.
just wait till it drops below 60 outside and they crank the heat up to 80. i don't get office temperatures at all.
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