"Some block air vents with cardboard, or quietly switch on space heaters under their desks... How did America become the land of over-powered air conditioners?"
America, it turns out, is addicted to A/C for reasons of fashion, physiology, gender norms, architecture and history...."
Gender norms! It's actually sex discrimination — and it is intentional discrimination, not just disparate impact, if you haven't blinded yourself to the physiological difference:
Men tend to be bigger and heavier than women, meaning they heat up and cool down more slowly. Men also typically have more muscle than women, which helps to generate heat. Women tend to have more body fat, which holds heat into their cores, but can leave them with icy toes and fingers that make them feel colder.
This differences are the origin of countless domestic spats over the thermostat and the covers. It's also why some sleeping bags have two temperature ratings, one for “standard woman” and “standard man.”... Women have a different wardrobe for warmer weather, including dresses, skirts, sandals, sleeveless tops and lightweight fabrics. Men wear pretty much the same thing as always: long-sleeve shirts, pants, socks and closed-toe shoes....
[W]omen haven't been a major part of the U.S. workforce for that long, and it’s typically men who have designed office buildings, installed air conditioning systems, and set the thermostats....
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147 comments:
Tell the menopausal women the air conditioning is for the men.
If you can't stand the cold, stay out of the office?
This attack on a/c is all about global warming.
It's also women that fight against dress codes to dress in less clothing and then complain about being cold.
I keep the thermostat at 75 in our house and my wife keeps turning it down. Do you suppose she is a trannee ?
If we turn the heat up for you, will you let us wear shorts?
There was an article a week or so ago in the Toronto Star that purported to show that lessening the A/C improved productivity. Its a co-ordinated attack from a "war room" somewhere funded by some guilt wracked billionaire.
We prefer the cold just to see your protruding nipples.
Is it misogynist to point out that it's more socially acceptable (among other points) for women to slip on a sweater than for men to strip?
It's just difficult to impress potential clients with your professionalism while dressed in a loin cloth.
God knows I've tried.....
Is it misogynist to point out that it's more socially acceptable (among other points) for women to slip on a sweater than for men to strip?
Yes.
Men should set the temperature at the higher setting women want, and wear shorts.
MayBee beat me to it...I've worked with way more women who complained about the temperature, and they were pretty evenly divided between too hot and too cold. The guys? They never mentioned it.
It's also related to increased use of computers and the cooling needed - sometimes it's simpler to keep the whole building cool than to have separate systems for the computer rooms.
Men tend to be bigger and heavier than women, meaning they heat up and cool down more slowly.
I've met a lot of middle aged women that probably out-weigh me by 50 pounds.
I've got to side with the women on this one--at least at my workplace, it's freezing cold during the summer (and it's an office, not a meat storage shed--yet I could probably leave milk out on my desk and it would stay good for days). But that may be more due to building maintenance issues (they can never seem to get it right--some areas complain it's boiling hot there in the summer) than any general cultural love of the cold.
To the extent the latter is the problem, I'd say its' because they'd rather people be a bit shivery than to have people sweat and stink more in the office. As noted above, it's easier to put on a pullover than to cool yourself off in an uncomfortably hot office.
It is about sexism to be sure, particularly from women, who expect office norms be adjusted to suit them. Because they are women, they are special people, whose comfort and wants are to be privileged over men at all times, rather than them having to adjust to the office norms to fit in.
I've always assumed the temperature is set to accommodate executives in suits, leaving it too cool for those of us who wear short-sleeve shirts. I keep a fleece in my cube, and I get on with my life.
This angle on normal usage of electricity for creating an indoor environment that obviously causes worker happiness, not unhappiness, is as baseless as the other ten thousand Global Warming Hoax Disaster angles on human life as we know it.
They take several layers of lies together and profoundly call it a horrible reality.
s it misogynist to point out that it's more socially acceptable (among other points) for women to slip on a sweater than for men to strip?
You should know by now that a) pointing out anything is misogynist, and b) pointing is phallic and must be destroyed.
.I've worked with way more women who complained about the temperature, and they were pretty evenly divided between too hot and too cold. The guys? They never mentioned it.
This, eleventy. I can't think of a single place I've worked (minus the summer spent as a roofer, and even then not much) where the guys bitch about the thermostat. The women are always split. There's no consensus along gender lines.
leaving it too cool for those of us who wear short-sleeve shirts
Odd that you would make that choice then.
This is about eventually getting all of August off. Like the in-air conditioned French.
Totally agree with Cheryl and Maybee. I have worked with many, many women (and am related to some) who have about a 2 degree temperature range of comfort, and complain incessantly if it falls below or above that range. And when they are too warm, they are vociferous if not obnoxious about it. I've rarely heard from men, unless the temp gets uncomfortably high.
I guess that's sexist; I am one of those sexist women who doesn't like Hillary! either.
Men tend to be bigger and heavier than women, meaning they heat up... more slowly.
Yeah, that's just stupid. Your body temperature is generally just below 100, and constantly producing heat. The only scenario in which they would heat up more slowly is if the temperature was well over 100 degrees, and heating your core up to those temperatures would be deadly for anyone.
Because women crave precise temp control, they assume that men must desire the same thing, and that since men are generally happy, it cannot be due to obliviousness to temperature, but due to successful conspiracy against women.
The Owner contracts with an Architect to design a building. The Architect then sub-contracts with a Civil (structural) Engineer to do the structural design, a Mechanical Engineer to design the plumbing and heating and ventilation, an Electrical Engineer for lighting and power, and various specialty firms for a restaurant, skating rink, or whatever else is desired to be included. The fees for all these people come out of the Architect's overall fee.
The stepchild here tends to be the HVAC, since good design not only takes good (expensive) designers, but also costs money in construction. Not too mention that the good HVAC guys will have things to say about the Architects building design which the Architect do not want to hear.
If you don't like the temperature of the building where you work, either work up a fix (in the past, I've blocked vents, or put wet paper towels on the thermostat) or quit and get another job. Or start your own business.
Nobody like a whiner.
My wife used to be cold all the time. Now she's hot all the time. My hands are cold in the winter, so I sometimes wear fingerless gloves to type.
This article at the Post is just their way of generating clicks. So many wives will send it to their husbands or bosses. See, it's not just me!
Guys don't bitch about the thermostat because it would subject you to severe eye-rolling, harsh treatment. Its something you learn early. If you are cold-shut up-no one cares. I've always been cold in most offices I've worked in, You just hope the biggest blob doesn't get the thermostat turned down more.
tim in vermont said...
Odd that you would make that choice then.
Not when you consider that at some point I need to leave the office and deal with the outside temperature, and would rather not be in a long sleeve shirt, nor go shirtless.
As I said, I keep a fleece in my office, and wear that as needed. Seems the most reasonable strategy.
There is excess use of air conditioning, period. Whenever I walk into an air conditioned place, after dressing for outside comfort- shorts and short-sleeved shirts- I fell cold.
YoungHegelian said...
It's just difficult to impress potential clients with your professionalism while dressed in a loin cloth.
That depends on your profession...and how you look in a loin cloth.
America is "addicted" to AC because it is hotter than Europe. And cooling via AC is MUCH much MUCH more efficient than heating cold environments.
This is a bunch of crap.
Even today, there are hardly any women in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) minors.
Nothing worse than being hot in a closed room. I was always the one turning the thermostat down at work. It's easy to warm up. You bring a light cardigan or jacket.
I once worked in a tiny cinder block building that was freezing cold in the winter. People wore coats, scarves, and gloves with the fingertips cut off so that they could still type. That was a little too cold.
Productivity "falls with the temperature"(queue coffee sputtering)? This reporter obviously never has never tried to work in an un-airconditioned building anywhere in the deep south June through August, where productivity can approach absolute zero. It sounds like the the writer has collected a lot of facts and arranged them in such a way as to support various lefty tropes such as AGW, sexism, and America as some sort of eco-terrorist organization. Totally useless crap story.
You can stand more variation in temperature if there is fresh air. However, ever since Jimmy Redeless and his "War on Energy" the official pressure has been for sealing up buildings as tight as possible, and this, if anything, looks to get worse rather than better.
Most office buildings are built on speculation by a developer who obviously has no intention of working there himself, but just rent space out at so much per square foot. Quality is not an item, nor productivity of the workforce; especially not for government agencies. So, the idea is to build as cheap as possible.
My favorite quote in the article:
The U.S. uses more electricity for air conditioning than Africa uses for everything.
This factoid tells you absolutely nothing of value. The innumerate writer used it because it sounds like it contains information.
How does menopause factor into this discussion?
How did AC become the latest crisis du jour? Who could possibly be behind this agenda? Let's guess.
It's men in suits; women can wear skirts and short sleeves, but men can't.
A while back, I read that it's an even bigger issue in Japan, where there's been a campaign to try to get men to change to lighter-weight clothes to reduce the intensity of the AC.
It also irritates me that restaurants are so cold, because, at least for a workday, you can plan, and bring a cardigan, but if you've spent your day outdoors and then come inside, you're often stuck. And yet I assume that they do so on account of the workers, in back at grills and ovens.
Good HVAC systems require an architect willing to accept changes due to air flow needs, a buyer willing to pay for something slightly above the absolute cheapest, and a focus on the low end workers needs from developers.
It can happen, but pigs fly more often.
so I sometimes wear fingerless gloves to type.
Try wrapping your wrists instead. If it's like bike riding, that's the spot that controls blood flow to the hands.
I don't air-condition at all. In extreme summer, which has not happened for a few years, I suck cold air from the basement floor upstairs onto the computer desk with a length of 12" flexible duct and 12v solar fan.
In the meantime, tiny fans do fine. Remember what sweat is for.
If women came to work in long sleeved shirts buttoned up to the collar, wore ties (those these are vanishing), long slacks of heavy cotton twill or lightweight wool, and put on suit jackets or sport coats for meetings, then they'd be perfectly happy with the thermostat.
Cold AC to mask body odor in closed space.
WarOnWomen 1.0: free condoms,
WarOnWomen 2.0: office AC, then the smelly males give them a headache, must banish the XY creatures from the workplace.
There are no biological differences between men and women (both are called "unitrons" these days). This is clearly a sexist article.
Just let men where shorts to work. Problem solved. Who could be against that?
I used to where shorts to work, because I would spend time in the warehouse that had no A/C, in Texas.
Actually it has to do with economics and our cheap as possible appreciation of architecture in our time. Air conditioning control is based on discomfort. This is the same basic concept as creating entertainment based on the Kardashians. Here's how it works: when it gets unbelievably hot (or cold) a thermostatic sensor sends a message to the unit stating: "These women are freezing (burning) their asses off!" Because some jackass with a brain has flipped the system to heat or cool then it blasts out heat or cooling as hard as possible while singeing or blast freezing the occupants. Men, having dealt with women all their lives, are heartier creatures and are able to withstand a blast furnace or an arctic freeze.
Back to econ 101--the cheapest crap you can buy for your home or business uses the discomfort model turning on and off and huffing and puffing to blow the place down. "I am air conditioner hear me roar!" Yes, they have figured out that hot or cold people psychologically like to hear their savior blow and further, when hot, people like having air blowing across their skin and not so much if they are cold.
These units run off alternating current (commonly called electricity) which requires that they blast on and cut off all the fracking time. They need to have a DC converter$ so the blower and the condenser are able to MODULATE the temperature AND the blower. The DC equipped units run all the time but at a speed and temperature that is based on comfort not exploding nipples.
Women's hatred for air conditioning is reinforced by the sound of that unit coming on every time they just started to warm up. Some women channel these feelings toward the opposite sex and they respond by removing more and more covering in the summer while treating men more and more coldly just to torment us.
If you can quit complaining long enough and get out your checkbook you'll need to ask for a 4 pipe VAV (variable air volume) system with DC modulating condenser. And yeah, it’s about twice as much as the crap you have.
This factoid tells you absolutely nothing of value. The innumerate writer used it because it sounds like it contains information.
No, it tells you everything. Remember that reading the modern media is like the old days reading Pravda, the story is there, you just have to think critically to find it. The story is that the writer thinks we should use less electricity, and the nearest weapon to hand is the lamentations of the women.
It does amuse me that air conditioning is so "controversial" while heating, not so much.
When the construction bids come in over the budget, the HVAC is usually the first to be cut, and it should be the last.
(though these are vanishing)
Sorry
When I worked in a corporate office, I used to hear the women across the partition complaining about how cold it was, and talking about putting on sweaters and their hands being too cold to type. And I would be sitting in my shirtsleeves, sweating and nodding off from the heat.
Of course the situation was one where someone was going to be uncomfortable; that's inherent in any scheme of mass provision. But my co-workers could put on extra layers. There wasn't much I could do to reduce the heat; I couldn't very well take my shirt off, let alone strip down to my boxers!
The article might have been more effective without the factoid about energy use, because the writer tipped their hand about the real reason for writing it. A great rule of rhetoric is RUE!, resist the urge to explain!
Heating is "air conditioning," ma'am.
[W]omen haven't been a major part of the U.S. workforce for that long, and ...
Excuse me, I believe that women have been a major part of the office workforce for a lot longer than offices have been air-conditioned. Try Googling 19th century office workers.
I have never understood American hospitals.
You cannot keep a building "hospital clean" if is carpeted, and you cannot keep diseases from spreading if the exhaust air goes to a common over the ceiling plenum and gets re-circulated all over the building.
The Contractor is required to build according to the Plans and Specifications, and the Architect is supposed to provide adequate inspection to see that he does so.
Of course, again, inspection cost money and comes out of the fee.
tim in vermont said...
This factoid tells you absolutely nothing of value. The innumerate writer used it because it sounds like it contains information.
No, it tells you everything. Remember that reading the modern media is like the old days reading Pravda, the story is there, you just have to think critically to find it. The story is that the writer thinks we should use less electricity, and the nearest weapon to hand is the lamentations of the women.
8/3/15, 10:43 AM
Actually the writer wants us to use less electricity so we can live like Africans.
Rarely is the building the culprit in the spread of infectious disease--it touching, direct breathing and the instruments.
Carpet in a hospital is synthetic and anti-microbial and it works.
Pathogens don't live more than a few feet in aerosol form. Operating rooms and surgical recovery units have special filters to remove finer particles that could infect a wound.
Wash your hands, wear a mask, and sterilize.
Do not let people cough on you or allow strangers to lick you.
Actually the writer wants us to use less electricity so we can live like Africans.
Certainly, and at the same time, she wants to import large numbers of Mexican peasants, who are currently living a climate friendly lifestyle, into the US to live first world climate killing lifestyles because.. because.. you asshole!
Inspection does not come out of the fee--it is an additional service.
1. Spend more on your building and their maintenance (some of these things may cost money)
2. Clean the filters--dirty filters slow down the air and raise the temperature of the coil making the air a lot colder and sometimes freezing the coil.
3. Adjust the setpoints of your crap equipment: extend the time it runs and the temperature extremes.
4. Let the blower run all the time this will profoundly reduce the sensation of being too hot and won't blast the cold ones and will sound more peaceful. You can slow it down a little.
5. Get fans for people that are hot
6. Divert or partially block the register near those who are cold--do not blow air on women's necks period.
7. Architects and contractors are like lawyers--most of them are pretty bad.
As a building engineer, I can tell you this. We will get a complaint from one office or another, usually one peopled by female clerical staff in cubicles, that it is too hot or too cold. Consulting the A/C computer, we see it's a perfect 71° F in that space and we make no adjustment. Predictably, a half hour later we get another call complaining that it is now the opposite of the first call. This is the cause of much laughter in the department.
At a previous work site, this inexpensive device helped me make the case that the HVAC was roasting our team.
This is the cause of much laughter in the department.
Sexist pig!
They failed to mention the big mistake we made in adopting AC: it keeps Washington from emptying out over the summer.
Am I the only one who found the EU sleeping bag label indecipherable?
Remember newspaper advertisements where movie theater listings would advertise that their theaters had air conditioning? With snow on the letters, and little penguins and igloos and eskimos?
Remember newspaper advertisements?
Remember newspapers?
Do not let people cough on you or allow strangers to lick you.
I hope Laslo reads this.
"It also irritates me that restaurants are so cold, because, at least for a workday, you can plan, and bring a cardigan, but if you've spent your day outdoors and then come inside, you're often stuck. And yet I assume that they do so on account of the workers, in back at grills and ovens."
I find restaurants freezing in the summer, but assume it's because wait staff are running around a lot and get hot quickly, so they'd rather customers bring a sweater than to have servers get sweat in our food. That, or maybe it encourages us to not linger so they can turn tables over quickly.
Don't get me started on loud music in restaurants!
For a summer job, I worked in an office that was so cold I actually wore a sweatshirt indoors and after a few hours of that I had to escape to the outside to warm up. I seriously considered a winter coat. Trying to explain that to the folks outside would have been amusing. It would be 90 degrees outside, probably around 60 inside though it may have been in the 50s. This was a college hall, albeit the basement.
That was too cold. I sense the maintenance staff wanted to stress test the air conditioning and figured no one would be in the building that they cared about.
But, yeah, from my experience working with many, many women in the office is the comfortable zone for most women is at most 5 degrees, said comfortable range is a moving target, and the women are generally not synched up in their comfort. A losing battle if there ever was one.
Inspection does not come out of the fee--it is an additional service.
That depends on how the Design Professional's contract is written.
And it is not that good an idea to make it a Special Service. Nobody wants to go to the Owner and tell him this job is going in the toilet unless we put more and better inspection on the site. And though I may have to tell my boss why I am spending so much time out there, I don't want to have to account to the Owner for it; especially if the Owner is a @#$%^! government agency.
Dont worry - with Obamas energy policies there wont be any heating or AC to fret about.
Feminazi Bullhockey
The absolute worst working conditions I have ever had was in the old Federal Building downtown Albuquerque (not the old-old, but the new old; the white one).
It was built in the late 50's on an Eisenhower administration plan to distribute federal money to deserving local politicians around the country, who would provide X square feet of Federal office space for a guaranteed 30-year lease.
I was told that in pre-design conferences the Architect would make proposals for this or that, and the leader of the local group would ask,
"Doesn't that cost money?"
"Ah-ur, well a little."
"Well, we won't do that, then."
It was said that on completion, the Architect refused to let them put his name on the building plaque, but I never checked that out to see if it was true. I just took it for granted; the building was that bad.
The HVAC was so bad that the temperature in the area of my office was near 80 all winter and 65 all summer. Left the building at quitting time and felt like I had been sandbagged before I got to the end of the block and got home in a condition that did not do my marriage any good at all.
The Corps of the Eggineers was stuck with the 30 year lease, but left for better quarters the day the lease was up.
I believe I read in the Journal that their old office space had been declared unfit for human occupation.
When my AC died in early July due to a storm --- it was 92 degrees in my house.
At 9 at night.
It never got below 89. I had to leave my dog outside because it was cooler there, even in the middle of the day.
You don't see me chastising whiny Northeasterners bitching about the cold. You can wear more clothing.
What can I do? Skin myself?
The U.S. uses more electricity for air conditioning than Africa uses for everything.
Would it be wrong to notice that there are likely plenty of environmental activists that you can make the same claim about individually?
It also irritates me that restaurants are so cold, because, at least for a workday, you can plan, and bring a cardigan, but if you've spent your day outdoors and then come inside, you're often stuck. And yet I assume that they do so on account of the workers, in back at grills and ovens.
Absolutely. In the summer, on the line, it hits 120-140 most of the time. Those cooks are miserable in a way most folks cannot fathom. And the waiters who have to go get your stuff for you --- the kitchen on the OTHER side of the line can hit 90-100 easily (which is a problem since customers REALLY hate sweating waiters).
That, or maybe it encourages us to not linger so they can turn tables over quickly.
That too, yes. I had tables when I waited who sat there for an hour after closing --- so I noisily did all my cleaning, including vacuuming, around them. No need for me to not be productive.
Don't get me started on loud music in restaurants!
They don't want customers to hear the fights that go on in the kitchen. Which, given how hot it is, wasn't infrequent.
...nor was sex amongst waiters in all kinds of locations in the back.
damikesc said...
...nor was sex amongst waiters in all kinds of locations in the back.
I was only aware of one kind of location for sex in the back. Guess I should have paid more attention during sex ed.
Heat wave passed through Bavaria Germany. Thermostat didn't go above 80 in the house, even though it was 100 outside. Just turned on a fan. What a savings and climate conscious as well.
Do the anti-A/C crusaders hope for a triple-digit European-style heatwave death toll?
Gotta get rid of those elderly some way or another.
I was only aware of one kind of location for sex in the back. Guess I should have paid more attention during sex ed.
Meant in the "kitchen area". Nothing was more enjoyable than watching a girl blow a dude while you're trying to fix up the soda machine.
Heat wave passed through Bavaria Germany. Thermostat didn't go above 80 in the house, even though it was 100 outside. Just turned on a fan. What a savings and climate conscious as well.
I had 20 or so 100 plus degree days this past month. I'm down to 97 or so most of the time now.
How long is your heat wave lasting? Mine goes from May thru September.
Do the anti-A/C crusaders hope for a triple-digit European-style heatwave death toll?
It was 5 figures. About 42,000.
The HORROR! The horror...
"The U.S. uses more electricity for air conditioning than Africa uses for everything."
THAT'S A GOOD THING.
The trend seems to be a focus on "bodies:" feminist issues are framed around an amorphous concept of "women's bodies," race issues are now framed around an amorphous concept of "black bodies," etc.
The funny thing, though, is that although the rhetorical framing is different the demands seem to be pretty much the same. Men & women are different, and according to the Prof's assertion (in Science! terms) that difference leads to a differential need for heating or cooling. That's the fact (arguendo anyway), and so the conclusion that must follow is that men should accommodate women's needs. Excuse me, the needs of women's bodies.
I note that the Supreme Court uses something like "the least costly/damaging alternate means of producing a desired result" in some of their tests of Constitutional permissibility. If we applied reasoning similar to that would the solution be "if you're too cold dress differently?" Are we talking about a majority of people here, or just a few (does that matter)? What if a few of the people have a hyperactive sweat disorder (which I think is more common with overweight people, and obesity's on the rise..)? Would it be fair for the non-sweat-prone to suffer a bit to prevent a problem with the sweat-prone?
At any rate as far as I can tell the demand is still "make sure women's needs and desires have precedence over men's," but couched in "body" language that's supposed to be more persuasive. I note women at work choose to clothe their bodies in dresses and skirts, of course...but that's almost certainly men's fault, too.
Most stationary engineers will tell you it is impossible to please all the women in a large open office. Walked through an office once with my digital thermometer, and the temp varied from 70-71 degrees. 3 of the women were too hot, 3 too cold. I left it set as was.
.nor was sex amongst waiters in all kinds of locations in the back.
"Prep bench!"
Not that I ever heard, saw, or participated in anything remotely that disgusting as college students having sex on a food prep surface in restaurant in the seventies... Nosirree!
"Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged Sunday that if elected she will build on a new White House clean-energy program and defend it against those she called "Republican doubters and defeatists."
Our immune systems were so much stronger then, before we became scared of everything.
What is a "stationary engineer?" How could such a one be walking and still be "stationary?"
And you can't please a single woman in a small office either.
"[W]omen haven't been a major part of the U.S. workforce for that long".
I guess forty-five years isn't "that long" - about 45% of women were in the labor force in 1970, and over half by 1980.
Nothing was more enjoyable than watching a girl blow a dude while you're trying to fix up the soda machine.
Cue Laslo.
The only question is, did he use to fix soda machines, or will it be roleplay with a Hollywood starlet.
Since there is an obvious coordinated media attack on air-conditioning going on, the Federal government should lead by example.
Congress should ban all air-conditioning in Washington DC, and should ban air-conditioning in all Federal buildings nationwide.
Frozen workers make more errors and are less productive, according to Alan Hedge, professor of design and environmental analysis and director of Cornell’s Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory, who studied office temperatures about a decade ago.
Researchers had their hands on the controls at an insurance office for a month. And when they warmed the place from 20 to 25 degrees, typos went down by 44 per cent and productivity went up by 150 per cent.
Plus, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that you can save about 11 per cent on power bills by raising the thermostat from 22(C) to 25(C) degrees.
And the men can just switch to more reasonable fashion choices for warmer offices. I see plenty of tan summer suits around town. And even some linen or seersucker from the Southern delegations to D.C.
But come on, men, be bold.
I’m talking short suits. They’re adorable! Plus, we’d all love to see your knees, guys.
The Toronto Star
If this isn't a co-ordinated attack on A/C, I wonder what one would look like?
Did the workers know they were being observed in those studies?
My elderly dog has a favorite spot.
It's in the kitchen, on the hardwood floor, where the afternoon sun comes in through a sidelight.
She rests her head on the a/c vent and she looks out the sliding glass door to keep tabs on the backyard.
Bless her furry little heart.
Did the workers know they were being observed in those studies?
There you go applying critical thinking and logic when you are supposed to swallow it whole.
"There's no consensus along gender lines."
Wait for a man to suggest what the interior temperature should be. There will immediately be a clear consensus among women that the man is wrong.
But, yeah, all the recent coordinated hand-wringing over AC is a pathetically transparent build-up to some sort of government action which we will then be expected to applaud. Another one of those "national conversations" where only one side is invited to speak.
Temperature is what two people come to the same of if they're in contact.
"The U.S. uses more electricity for air conditioning than Africa uses for everything."
Damn straight. The US also generates more electricity than Africa does for everything.
If racist leftists didn't think of African nations as human zoos they'd understand that this is a horrible problem and not something to brag about.
Researchers had their hands on the controls at an insurance office for a month. And when they warmed the place from 20 to 25 degrees, typos went down by 44 per cent and productivity went up by 150 per cent.
A meta-study on the subject found significantly different results. Raising the temperature from 20°C(68°F) to 22°C(71.6°F) increased productivity by maybe 2%. Continuing to raise it to 25°C(77°F) decreased productivity by 3-4% from its high.
The study the author (cherry)picked was a significant outlier.
Sooner or later men will recognize that it is truly dumb to wear suit coats and neckties in the summer. Mark Zuckerberg had it night. Grey T-shirts over jeans. As for women, lose the high heels. If you want to be taken seriously, don't come to work looking as if you're looking to get laid.
It's the only thing men and women agree on.
From the 50's the interesting research on worker productivity and environmental changes found that productivity increased when lights were turned down AND when lights were turned up--the changed parameter itself didn't appear to be the cause, but instead it was likely the workers' sense that they were being monitored or heightened awareness that some change had occurred.
Goldilocks Guilty Looks Enter Tree Beers.
What you seeing in this article is the preparation for a future without reliable electrical power. Basically, you are being told by your betters that the brownouts in the heat of the day are good for you, so don't complain.
Speaking of electricity, it was just yesterday that I found out why you shouldn't remove the cover plate to the GFCI and then touch the probe of a circuit tester to the positive screw and the metal box at the same time.
Groovy, baby!
>>We prefer the cold just to see your protruding nipples.
I wasn't going to say anything. . . . .
Yancey Ward is right. Wind turbines not turning today in this heat? You didn't want that electricity anyway.
It couldn't have anything to do with this news today from the WSJ:
Obama’s New Climate-Change Regulations to Alter, Challenge Industry
The first-ever federal limits on power-plant carbon emissions aim to change the way Americans make and consume electricity and ease climate change.
When did the press become an organ of government?
"this inexpensive device"
My brother tried that. Brought in a thermometer to prove that his office was getting into the mid-80s.
Corporate response? "Employees are prohibited from having thermometers in their cubicles." Srsly.
"What can I do? Skin myself?"
According to Shel Silverstein, even that won't work.
lgv: Just let men where shorts to work. Problem solved. Who could be against that?
I used to where shorts to work, because I would spend time in the warehouse that had no A/C, in Texas.
Wear was this, exactly?
Yeah, but show up at the office in a set of warm fatigues, a balaclava, and ski mask and everyone gets all excited...
How about a New New Deal.
The Ladies make up a list of all their complaints about temp, shorts, $$, hair, body odor, whatever, then take a vote and hand it over.
The Guys will review it, then vote (pro forma, of course) to agree to every single G--damn thing, on one condition: no more whining. Nothing at all about shorts or shirts, about temperature or $$, about second shifts--nothing, zero, ever.
Deal?
damikesc said...
What can I do? Skin myself?
Not that there's anyting wrong with that.
The only question is, did he use to fix soda machines, or will it be roleplay with a Hollywood starlet.
It was annoying, to be honest.
Having to ask "Can you please go suck him off in the bathroom or something?" should not be a line one must ask more than once.
Obama’s New Climate-Change Regulations to Alter, Challenge Industry
The first-ever federal limits on power-plant carbon emissions aim to change the way Americans make and consume electricity and ease climate change.
Again, if he REALLY hated America, what policies would be different?
When is a liberal going to call this sexist for stating that there is a physiological difference between men and women?
Yes, it's true that allowing women to get away with dressing unprofessionally is sexist. But it's not worth the screams and howls from the women to try to hold them to genuinely professional standards, even if they only way they're going to actually get taken seriously is if they adhere to them.
"Hagar said...
What is a "stationary engineer?""
Comes from the old days of steam engines. Marine engineers operated boilers at sea, locomotive engineers operated boilers on rails, and stationary engineers operated boilers that didn't go anywhere. If you had the skillset and training for one job, you could easily jump to one of the others.
The Obama rules aren't too onerous where it counts, with electric rates, because there is a cheap alternative technology widely available to replace coal plants. Modern natural gas units are remarkably fast and cheap to build, being so modular they seem semi-portable. And they can be run by a tiny staff. I was very impressed by the one I visited this year.
Wind ? Forget it. Its all gas.
That is, it all more or less works if one assumes cheap gas. This is the sort of gamble that can easily go the other way. Its usually prudent to keep a mix of sources and fuels supplying the grid.
If it goes bad it can go really bad. Doubled rates are not out of the question.
If the men turn down the the thermostat the women will go back in the kitchen.
Ignorance is Bliss said...
...leaving it too cool for those of us who wear short-sleeve shirts.
Let me tell you this, before one of your executives does: There's no such thing as short-sleeve dress shirt.
Good HVAC systems require an architect willing to accept changes due to air flow needs, a buyer willing to pay for something slightly above the absolute cheapest...
...and the A/C units not located next to the dryer vent.
Oh, sorry, you're talking commercial construction.
The U.S. uses more electricity for air conditioning than Africa uses for everything.
That will change after Iran triggers the Islamic EMP right after they announce their own Islamic Bomb.
"When did the press become an organ of government?"
Is it proper terminology to describe the rectum as an organ?
Wait! There are NO physical differences between men and women!!!! That's why women can be Navy SEALs, and women with penises can box in women's boxing competitions.
If women are too cold in the office they should just identify themselves as men. Problem solved!
"furious_a said...
Good HVAC systems require an architect willing to accept changes due to air flow needs, a buyer willing to pay for something slightly above the absolute cheapest...
...and the A/C units not located next to the dryer vent.
Oh, sorry, you're talking commercial construction."
I had a problem maintaining heat in one building, and had been told it had always been a problem. Then found the bathroom exhaust fans were blowing directly on the outside air temperature sensor. Had only been that way for 10 years. Of course, that wasn't a commercial building, it was government....
Cold hands - warm heart. Long fingers, on the other hand...
Oh for the love of Delores Taylor in a wet-suit! Balderdash!! I like it cold cold and colder...and ain't I a woman?
Ah, the old "studies show ..." bullshit that lets you say whatever you want. Reporters are so fucking lazy.
Anyway, I've always believed in a disputes over inside temperature, the person who wants it warmer should lose. You can always warm yourself up with a sweater, blanket, space heater, etc., but the person who wants it cooler is shit out of luck, especially in a professional environment where he can't just strip naked and rub ice on his body.
Dammit, I'm the one that keeps turning down the thermostat to 72 as opposed to the built-in 78. Granted that we've had triple-digit heat the last week, but honestly.
So women can't stand a temperature of 72? Someone forgot to notify me. Personally, I prefer the low 60s, but I'll stand low 70s for the sake of the menfolk :-)
My understanding is that without a low a/c temperature the heat generated by the people and the office equipment would have everyone sweating.
I love that she wants to wear her nice, light cotton sundress with no hose and open toed sandals and be comfortable both outside in the heat and inside in the office. Without having to make any adjustments or compromises. But the guys, they should roast outside in the heat in their suits, pants, and closed shoes with socks.
I always wore a sweater in the office, summer or winter. I didn't wear open toed shoes. When I first started working in offices we all still wore hose everyday. When I commuted by train to the Loop in winter, I'd wear sweat pants and either boots or trainers until I got to the office. There I'd take off the sweatpants and put on a pair of heels.
many offices keep the temperature cool to keep the computers cool.
Blame technology.
Second, to keep the middle of the office tolerably cool, you have to freeze those near the vents.
Blame airflow.
Back in the 70's I was maintenance manager in a pharmaceutical plant.
In the front office we had two women, both of who worked in the same cubicle sort of off in a corner who were both pregnant at the same time.
They were never happy with the temperature. It was always either too cold or too warm.
One Saturday we installed a thermostat in their cubicle with a conduit running up the wall into the ceiling. Not connected to anything, totally dummy.
Monday I went to them, gave them a key to the tstat and explained how to change the settings. I made a bit of drama about how it was because I really liked them, special favor, can't tell anyone and so on.
Never had another complaint from them about the temperature.
I tell that story in my troubleshooting workshops around the country and have found that others have hit on similar schemes with similar results over the years.
John Henry
A meta-study on the subject found significantly different results. Raising the temperature from 20°C(68°F) to 22°C(71.6°F) increased productivity by maybe 2%. Continuing to raise it to 25°C(77°F) decreased productivity by 3-4% from its high.
I wonder how much of this and the improved productivity when warmer is Hawthorne Effect?
Hawthorne Effect says, briefly, that any change in the work environment improves productivity temporarily. Turns the lights up, productivity goes up then tapers back. turn the lights down, productivity goes up and then tapers back to normal. Paint the walls green, productivity goes up for a while. Then paint them beige and it goes back up.
From studies done at Hawthorne Labs in the 30's.
John Henry
Harold,
Are you a Marmaduke Surfaceblow fan? I am.
http://www.powermag.com/marmys-deep-freeze-blackout/
So much that for the past 4-5 years I have been publishing an homage to Marmy in Packaging Digest called KC Boxbottom, Packaging Detective. Lots of adventures like yours of the hot air on the thermostat. In fact, I just added that to my list of adventures to write about.
Find links to all published adventures at www.changeover.com/boxbottom.html
Drop me a note and we can swap stories.
John Henry
The single greatest invention of the last century and the pussies with an opinion want to ban it?
Fuck em.
I'm turning down the thermostat until I can hang meat in the living room.
On GMA today they discussed this story. All three male anchors wearing suits, and the female anchor was wearing a sleeveless dress. So, to reiterate. The guys had on an undershirt, a shirt and a jacket, and the woman had on a sleeveless dress. So......
I don't think this has been said so let me be the first. Hey women. If you're bitching about being cold in the workplace, there is a place where it's nice and warm ... it's your home kitchen. Get in there and rattle a few pots around. Maybe load and run the dishwasher. Better yet, fill the sink with some hot, soapy water and do them by hand! If that doesn't quite do it for you, try the laundry room. Suck it up buttercup or get the fuck out of the workplace and let the adults get on with the day. Thanks for playing.
Being retired, and not working, I am comfortable with 72-73 degrees in the house.
When I was working - and I never wore a suit, just slacks and shortsleeved shirt over a T-shirt - I liked it at 68 degrees.
The difference? Probably that I had my brain going and burning a surprising amount of calories.
In retirement, I eat much less and develop less bodyheat.
If it goes bad it can go really bad. Doubled rates are not out of the question.
If the poor die, it likely lowers their carbon footprint. And since Obama's policies killed them, it'll give him a massive carbon credit to use how he wishes.
The single greatest invention of the last century and the pussies with an opinion want to ban it?
Give them credit --- environmentalists have also fucked up toilets and made soaps way less effective.
They want us to go back to the good old days when people lived more "in relation" to nature.
We also died 30 years earlier, but hey, you know, eggs and omelettes.
Ah, the old "studies show ..." bullshit that lets you say whatever you want. Reporters are so fucking lazy.
Almost as bad as when a pol says, "Some people say...."
Name them, azzhat, or STFU.
damikesc said...
The single greatest invention of the last century and the pussies with an opinion want to ban it?
Give them credit --- environmentalists have also fucked up toilets and made soaps way less effective.
They want us to go back to the good old days when people lived more "in relation" to nature.
We also died 30 years earlier, but hey, you know, eggs and omelettes.
Well. I, for one, am ready to fight to keep it.
I once passed a drivers test in july because the Chrysler Newport could chill a wine glass in three seconds. The examiner got it with a big smile on his face and said, "just drive around awhile."
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