The air conditioning in an office is often a source of conflict, particularly between men and women. Air conditioning temperatures are typically set according to research that was carried out in the 1960s; a study that used the standard metabolic rate of a middle aged, 150lb man to determine the optimum temperature for an air-conditioned office.
Back then, the workforce was largely dominated by men, so the temperature setting made more sense than it does now. Modern offices have an equal mix of male and female employees, and a study published in 2015 by Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that women actually fare better in warmer environments than men; 25°C and 22°C respectively.
With that in mind, how can workers in a modern office keep themselves warm or cool enough during the working day? Continue reading