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washingtonpost.com Frigid offices, freezing women, oblivious men: An air-conditioning investigation


Destino

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You can spot them. The frozen ones who come outside at lunch like sun-seeking turtles, cardigans balled up next to them, bare shoulders defrosting in the noon sunlight, no matter how wilting it is outdoors.

 

Every single woman I talked to in downtown Washington on a hot, humid July afternoon was thawing out.

“I. Am. Fuh-reezing. Feel my hand — I’m still cold,” said Ruth Marshall, 64, who was seated on a park bench, face to the sky. And, yes, her hand felt like a cold steak.

“I have to come out here for 30 minutes at a time just to warm up,” said Marshall, the director of administration at a construction firm where the air conditioning is set to Arctic.

It’s the time of year desperate women rely on cardigans, pashminas and space heaters to make it through the workweek in their frigid offices. And their male colleagues barely notice.

 

“Is your office too cold?” I asked a clutch of men — pinstripes, charcoal pants, crisp shirts with the faint outline of undershirts beneath.

 

They looked at me as if I spoke in Finnish, confident faces contorted in puzzlement.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/frigid-offices-freezing-women-oblivious-men-an-air-conditioning-investigation/2015/07/23/bdd1b4b4-30ae-11e5-97ae-30a30cca95d7_story.html?tid=sm_fb

 

To really understand the joy of this I need to also include this quote:

 

So there you have it: the gender divide, thermostat edition. All these women who actually dress for the season — linens, sundresses, flowy silk shirts, short-sleeve tops — changing their wardrobes to fit the sweltering temperatures around them.

 

And then there are the men, stalwart in their business armor, manipulating their environment for their own comfort, heaven forbid they make any adjustments in what they wear.

 

That’s right, my friends. Air conditioning is another big, sexist plot.

 

Gentlemen it's time to start wearing shorts at the office for gender equality. 

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This was meant to be satire, correct? I mean it has to be.

 

I thought so, I really did because it felt like an onion article.... but then I saw the Jezebel article and now I'm not so sure. 

 

So assuming that air conditioning is indeed a machine of the patriarchy, It's time to embrace progress Taylor. 

31shorts-600.jpg

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We set the thermostat at 71-72 in the summer.

I could totally live with that, especially in an office environment, though my times in one have been few, far between, and always short-lived...I've got that "gotta run around all day" kind of spirit, LOL

But at 71, the guests in the restaurant are freezing...I'm comfy...but then, I'm running in and out of a hot as hell kitchen all day...them pizza ovens ain't no joke.

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I would be miserable if I had to wear a suit everyday. I wear shorts and a casual shirt to lab most days.

But then again, if it were up to me, even in those conditions I would set the thermostat to 62. I ****ing love the cold. Heat and summers are the worst.

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Ours is set at 73. I'm always hot, even in winter. Our building is one story, but has different sections. Seems our section gets stuffy after a while until the air kicks back on. I have a fan on in my office. We don't have to wear suits, but slacks and button down shirt (no tie) are required and on Friday its jeans and a polo shirt.

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I do think a lot of places overdo it with th ac. Humidity is probably more important for comfort than temperature. If you can keep RH below 50% you'd be very surprised what can feel very comfortable,,. 75, 76, maybe 77

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This is idiotic. Problem solve people. Yeah, it will suck to bring different attire for commute and work but hey it eliminates the need to complain about things.

In the winter we don coats to commute and shed them. Well the reverse needs to happen in the summer.

People forget the old adage: form follows function.

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Normally I enjoy rolling my eyes at women complaining as much as any man, but on this I side with women.  They set the thermostat at 67 in my GF's office and every day she is miserable.  She wears long sleeves and sweaters too, it doesn't matter.  It is ridiculous and absurd to have to bring in a space heater to work during THE SUMMER.

 

I'm sorry, but the men who need it that cold just to be comfortable are ****ing soft.  I'm against an office catering to the needs of the weakest among us at the expense of everyone else.  Be a man, lose some weight, and go out into the heat every once in a while.

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Normally I enjoy rolling my eyes at women complaining as much as any man, but on this I side with women. They set the thermostat at 67 in my GF's office and every day she is miserable. She wears long sleeves and sweaters too, it doesn't matter. It is ridiculous and absurd to have to bring in a space heater to work during THE SUMMER.

I'm sorry, but the men who need it that cold just to be comfortable are ****ing soft. I'm against an office catering to the needs of the weakest among us at the expense of everyone else. Be a man, lose some weight, and go out into the heat every once in a while.

Lol does your gf post here?

72 should be fine for anyone. 67 is a bit much. But so is the women setting g the thermostat at 75. They can dress for warmer weather in shorts, skirts amd lighter clothes I can only wear a short sleeve shirt and pants. So if your gf is cold at 72 then tough she needs to suck it up like any guy would who may be too warm at 72.

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75 or hotter and you can start to smell people and that's gross.

When corporate fashion adjusts to let men come to work in sandals and 10oz of fabric like women are able to do then maybe it's a discussion. Individual men at the office have no control over that however and there is no male collective patriarchy council to petition. Men have been stuck in suits since satan crawled out of hell and cursed the world with it.

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It's been so long since I lived with humidity I forgot how cold you have to keep it.  73? I'm shivering just thinking about that.  It might be 105 outside, here in the desert, but 78 inside feels like heaven.  I notice it's too cold in restaurants a lot of times so that can turn the tables over quicker.  I don't go back to those places if I can help it.

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OK, full disclosure and everyone here knows what I speak of.

Hubby watches the weather lady here for her nips. Cold=nips.

Just sayin'.

But she ices them up before hand.

The reason we want it cold is because we men are frequently wearing wool pants, full shoes and socks, a cotton shirt, and a neck tie. Contrast that with the average outfit for ladies: Skirt made of light cotton twill, open to or light shoes/flats, usually with stockings or no socks, and a blouse frequently made of silk or other material.

So yes, when it's 72 in the office, I'm going to be uncomfortable because culture has dictated that I must dress this way to be "professional." It has nothing to do with wanting to see nipples in the office.

OK, full disclosure and everyone here knows what I speak of.

Hubby watches the weather lady here for her nips. Cold=nips.

Just sayin'.

But she ices them up before hand.

The reason we want it cold is because we men are frequently wearing wool pants, full shoes and socks, a cotton shirt, and a neck tie. Contrast that with the average outfit for ladies: Skirt made of light cotton twill, open to or light shoes/flats, usually with stockings or no socks, and a blouse frequently made of silk or other material.

So yes, when it's 72 in the office, I'm going to be uncomfortable because culture has dictated that I must dress this way to be "professional." It has nothing to do with wanting to see nipples in the office.

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It's been so long since I lived with humidity I forgot how cold you have to keep it. 73? I'm shivering just thinking about that. It might be 105 outside, here in the desert, but 78 inside feels like heaven. I notice it's too cold in restaurants a lot of times so that can turn the tables over quicker. I don't go back to those places if I can help it.

Yup. I read an interesting article recently that an overwhelming percentage of residential and commercial HVAC units are grossly oversized. What that causes is "short cycling" where the AC kicks on and cools so quickly that it doesn't have sufficient time to remove humidity. Which of course leads to the homeowner lowering the thermostat more and more because they are hot

A properly sized hvac unit should run for long periods of time and provide RH levels under 50%. This has the added benefit of stifling mold growth and saving a ton of money

We got a new unit this spring and it has humidity control.., we keep the thermostat at 75 and that is COLD.

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I dress lightly and half the time need to run a fan in my office. My wife keeps the house at 72 during the day, but after she goes to sleep I drop the thermostat down to 67. When we were seperated I bought a window AC unit so I could keep the bedroom temp at 61 so I can fall asleep at night.

If I'm indoors and I feel cold, it's a good indication I'm getting sick.

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