4.1.14| Wolverhampton, UK | Less than a quarter of office workers find the temperature in their office comfortable, a survey indicates, with more than a third suggesting they take at least 10 minutes out of work each day due to temperature alone.

Office temperature is often a bone of contention between staff, with some struggling to work from the heat, while others wrap up in jumpers to stave off a chill.

One Poll surveyed 2,000 people on behalf of heating and air-conditioning specialist Andrews Sykes, in a bid to discover how much the temperature affected workplace efficiency and output. The results point to a general sense of dissatisfaction around temperature.

Only 24% agreed that their office was an ideal temperature for working throughout the year.

The ramifications of this are larger than may be expected: 29% of people surveyed estimate they spend between 10 and 30 minutes each workday not working due to an uncomfortable office temperature.  A surprising 6% believe they spend more than half an hour each day not working well for this reason.

On average, respondents admitted to wasting nearly 8 minutes a day due to temperature alone, resulting in more than 28 work days being wasted annually. For the whole UK workforce, this works out as £13bn worth of work not being done each year (based on an average wage of £26,500, 29.84m UK employees and a 228 day working year).

This means that an office of 100 people will have at least 8 hours wasted each day, due to the temperature alone. The full figure could be more like 18 hours – the equivalent of more than 2% of staff members never turning up to work.

Helen Pedder, head of HR for ClearSky HR, said: “Whether temperatures soar or plummet, unbearable office conditions can have a serious impact on employee health and well-being. Unfortunately the law is left open to misinterpretation by simply stating that employers must provide a ‘reasonable’ workplace temperature.
 
“Until health and safety guidance provides clear and coherent requirements, there are various steps that an employer can take to prevent a dip in productivity and performance. Relaxing dress code requirements where appropriate and providing heating and/or cooling devices are effective methods that help to regulate thermal comfort.”

East Anglia was found to be the region where employees were most likely to complain about the temperature, with 46% of them complaining to colleagues and 32% having complained to management.

The South West admitted to complaining to colleagues less than the rest of the UK, with 34% facing up to grumbling. Residents of Northern Ireland were found to be least likely to complain to management, with only 12% having done so.

The survey also shows the extent of the divide between men and women when it comes to comfort with the office temperature.

•Women wasted an average of 33% more time (around 9 minutes, compared to 6.5) than men trying to acclimatise themselves to inadequate office conditions.

•70% of women have needed to bring in additional clothing to the office to keep warm, and 50% resorted to excessive cups of tea, while fewer men; 44% and 28% respectively, needed a jumper or a hot drink.

•Surprisingly, nearly 10% of women have resorted to bringing in a hot water bottle to work!

Some further stats we found:

•27% of women have complained to management about the temperature, compared with 17% of men
•48% of women have complained to a colleague about the temperature, compared with 31% of men
•27% of men think the summer temperature in their office is ideal, compared to only 21% of women
•31% of men think the winter temperature in their office is ideal, compared to only 19% of women

Andrews-Sykes are the UK’s leading specialist hire company for providing pumping, heating and cooling solutions. They aim to help their customers address real-life challenges – planned or emergency – in the fastest, most expert  professional and cost effective ways.  www.andrews-sykes.com