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Comment by eBombzor | Hacker News Reader

I go to an office where they have the AC running on full blast. It's insane, I'm freezing inside, and then outside it's like 90 F. Why do office people do this? Is it like that in EU or is it just a NA thing?

Imagining your scenario is like utopia to me. I hate going on the bus, always some crazy homeless person there, but I don't want to pay for parking either.

I wouldn't mind the office if it was like that. Safe and easy to get to. What a dream.

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Temperature is such a personal thing; it's almost impossible to satisfy an entire group: some like it hotter, some colder, some in-between. On average women get cold quicker then men. I always have the problem that it's either too hot or that there's not enough fresh air (one office didn't even have windows or AC, it was horrible and I had a headache by 2pm every day, mostly due to lack of fresh air).

Personal offices is the best solution; I had a job that did that. It was brilliant. it's also fairly rare unfortunately.

Older people also get colder than younger people. So a 20 year old male and a 60 year old female are not going to be even close in terms of preferred temperature.

> Personal offices is the best solution

Especially because I can communicate with my door if I'm in no distraction mode or not. I don't understand why doors are considered toxic, they're a god send. (see larger rant)

This is one of those things that really depends on the etiquette and expectations. We had a simple "if door closed == thinking deep thoughts == don't disturb unless urgent" etiquette, and it worked well, but this does need to be widely understood and communicated, otherwise it can indeed come off as "harsh" (especially if you're the only one doing it!)

Yeah I had a shared office once where we'd never close the door and it just felt useless. I think part of what causes this though is management. If they are very concerned about seeing you work then it never works. But that generally means there's other issues since they are micromanaging instead of leading.

There are laws that often get ignored.

My last in person employer was exactly described. I wore a sweatshirt in the summer, but my hands were always cold, and I looked forward to walking to lunch to warm up a bit.

I love it when the office is extremely cold. Makes me active and focused. I can always wear a jacket if I want to be warmer. On the other hand, if you set the temperature too high, some people will be unable to make themselves comfortable no matter what.

Big offices in the EU often do have AC, and sometimes have it set too cold. Smaller companies in older buildings often don't have AC and a much more pleasant atmosphere as a result. I'm not a fan of AC, but apparently some people like it. Also a reason to work from home: you work in an environment that you control, and aren't at the mercy of Facilities.

It's mainly a North American thing I think, because Americans are so fat. Fat people feel hot in temperatures that normal people find perfectly comfortable.

Could you clarify what temperature "freezing" was?

It's usually a ventilation duct aimed at your head and blowing cold air at you the whole day. Temperature could be around 70 degrees but it gets chilly when it is blowing at you all the time.

That seems like poor design, proper ventilation shouldn’t be directly aimed at any humans. But 70 degrees seems like a very standard temperature for indoors, I wouldn’t consider that cold.

The air being blown out is colder than 70, it has to cool down all the generated heat from the people + computers.

Having been subject to bad venting systems many times in my career, I can confirm they make the workplace very unpleasant.

"very standard" is debatable - in my country there's a law limiting AC in public spaces to 27°C (with a 2 degree tolerance, so really 25°C). 70 °F would be regarded by nearly everybody as too cold

I would feel warm under such circumstances. That air is still above my preference.

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