Women Feel Colder at Work – Here’s How to Design Out the Problem

Today we got wind of some new research which may affect your office design needs – women are suffering at work, especially during the winter, because they feel the cold much quicker than men do. The trouble is, both female employees and older male employees have a much lower metabolism than men, and this translates into feeling much cooler throughout the year.

At the moment, our ideas of the ‘perfect workplace temperature’ are still based on what they were way back in the 60s, and they centre around the average employee back then – an 150 pound, middle aged male employee. This certainly doesn’t reflect the face of the modern work force, so what can you do to change things and keep everybody happy? Here are a couple of our ideas:

Natural Light Equals Natural Warmth

Big windows (but not open windows!) should be your first port of call, as they will let lots of natural sunlight into the room and help raise dropping temperatures without needing to adjust the temperature of the thermostat. If you are having a new office designed especially for you then be sure to ask for plenty of glass that will help bring in natural light and natural warmth!

Alternatively, you can raise the temperature in the room artificially, but offer lots of windows which can be opened by anybody who needs to feel more of a breeze. Whichever option you choose, it gives people the opportunity to thrive side by side in the office environment.

Of course, if you’re stuck in a building where windows are in short supply then you might need another fix, which leads us onto…

Insulate Everything!

With proper insulation comes increased energy efficiency and less heat sneaking out through gaps in the walls. This means that you’ll be saving on energy costs whilst simultaneously cheering up those freezing employees – keeping everybody happy.

If you find that the countermeasures you put in place start to prove a problem for younger male employees who are overheating, desk fans can be an incredibly simple yet effective fix, allowing people independent control over their own working temperature.

When you’re moving into a new building you should ensure that insulation is one of your concerns, but even older buildings can be improved if you find out where the heat is leaking from and plug the gaps!

The gender divide in feeling temperatures is something which a lot of people don’t know about, so it’s easy to see how it’s been overlooked – but now this research is out there we hope to see some positive changes.

If you want to work with an experienced design team to ensure that your office is optimised in every way, contact Officescape today – online or at 01553 811 833 – to find out more or discuss your plans.