The cold at work

Winchester · Oct 5, 2015

A while back, we put up plastic ceilings over our cubes because we were that cold. It was simply painters plastic that we taped to our walls. It was glorious....all the heat didn't go straight up in the air, but circulated around in our cubes. I was toasty and my plants just loved the extra heat and humidity. My co-worker said it was the first time since he started here that he was actually warm. You couldn't see the tape or the plastic from the hallway as we were really careful how we did it. The only way you could see it was if you actually came into our cubes. Alas, the powers-that-be caught wind of the plastic ceilings and made us take them down.

It's just flipping cold in here again. This morning, one of my co-workers came into my office to tell me that he's really considering putting up another plastic ceiling because he can't stand it anymore. His feet are numb and his nose is running. He's wearing flannel jeans. And I'm the same way. Yet over in another department, the women are complaining that it's too hot in here. Right now? It's about 67 degrees....and they're over there in tank tops. I'm in a sweatshirt. My feet are numb. My nose is cold and so are my hands. Some days are better than others. There are some days when my feet aren't numb. We've gone to the powers- that-be and did everything but beg for heat. We all brought heaters from home and run them constantly, in addition to the raising the thermometers in our cubes to 85 degrees, the highest they will go. With no ceilings, though, the heat just rises up into the air. We get nothing. And what a waste of energy that is.

My co-worker said he'd try to make the ceiling as tight as possible so it wouldn't be seen from the hallway. That way nobody could complain. I looked straight at him said, "Honey, if you put another plastic ceiling up, you have to put one up over my cube, too. Or I'm telling."

He laughed. But I think we might come in over the weekend and try it again. If we're really quiet, we might get away with it for a while. Until somebody higher-up comes into the cubes and sees them. Then they'll have to come down again. But we're getting to the point where we're willing to take that chance. And we don't care what it looks like.

artiemom · Oct 5, 2015

I feel for you! I know how it is to work and feel so cold.

I used to work as a tech in a hospital. The exam rooms were so cold. I felt bad for the patients..never mind myself. A lot of the patients complained. but nothing was done. I was working with a bunch of women who were 'hot blooded". A lot of them were going through menopause-(the powers that be) There were also others who ate a lot of spicy food which make them hot. yes, during the day also.

I had already gone thru menopause, so I felt like the odd person there.

I used to wear long underwear beneath my scrubs, and a fleece jacket which I zipped up and I was still cold.

They actually wanted the thermostat set to 68 degrees---too cold for a medical facility. We had the same problem with uneven heating. Some rooms were warm and the others had cold drafts, not heat from the ducts....

It was a no win situation.

larussa · Oct 5, 2015

My very last job before retiring was like that also, the air would just blow on the top of my head in the summer and worse in the winter. They never kept it warm enough in the bldg. This last place had no cubicles, just a huge room with no privacy at all. Anyway glad I am retired for so many reasons, this being just one.

nurseangel · Oct 5, 2015

I like to say that one more step and my desk would be outside. I have a heating and air system in my office, but there are gaps at the top of the walls the lead to ? The building was converted and I don't know that it's insulated. I battle wasps all summer that come in and want to build nests in the fluorescent lights. It's not a very energy efficient space. The mice will arrive soon...

misterwhiskers · Oct 5, 2015

This might sound silly, but can you buy one of those heated cat pads and put it on your office chair? They also sell those chemical hand warmers...they might have them at dollar stores. As a last resort, you might want to look up herbs or supplements that can make you warm...I know niacin is known to do this.

kathyfromcanada · Oct 5, 2015

Winchester said:
A while back, we put up plastic ceilings over our cubes because we were that cold. It was simply painters plastic that we taped to our walls. It was glorious....all the heat didn't go straight up in the air, but circulated around in our cubes. I was toasty and my plants just loved the extra heat and humidity. My co-worker said it was the first time since he started here that he was actually warm. You couldn't see the tape or the plastic from the hallway as we were really careful how we did it. The only way you could see it was if you actually came into our cubes. Alas, the powers-that-be caught wind of the plastic ceilings and made us take them down.

It's just flipping cold in here again. This morning, one of my co-workers came into my office to tell me that he's really considering putting up another plastic ceiling because he can't stand it anymore. His feet are numb and his nose is running. He's wearing flannel jeans. And I'm the same way. Yet over in another department, the women are complaining that it's too hot in here. Right now? It's about 67 degrees....and they're over there in tank tops. I'm in a sweatshirt. My feet are numb. My nose is cold and so are my hands. Some days are better than others. There are some days when my feet aren't numb. We've gone to the powers- that-be and did everything but beg for heat. We all brought heaters from home and run them constantly, in addition to the raising the thermometers in our cubes to 85 degrees, the highest they will go. With no ceilings, though, the heat just rises up into the air. We get nothing. And what a waste of energy that is.

My co-worker said he'd try to make the ceiling as tight as possible so it wouldn't be seen from the hallway. That way nobody could complain. I looked straight at him said, "Honey, if you put another plastic ceiling up, you have to put one up over my cube, too. Or I'm telling."

He laughed. But I think we might come in over the weekend and try it again. If we're really quiet, we might get away with it for a while. Until somebody higher-up comes into the cubes and sees them. Then they'll have to come down again. But we're getting to the point where we're willing to take that chance. And we don't care what it looks like.

Sounds like their Hvac system isn't working properly. We had this problem when I worked at the bank, exactly the same issue! When they fixed it, It was a lot better.

Kat0121 · Oct 5, 2015

I have a small desk fan that is also a heater. Our office is like that too. You can feel the temperature change as you go from one side to another. I'll have to look at it tomorrow to see the brand. DH bought it years ago though. When you turn it on, the first stop is fan then low then high for the heat. It works great. I love it. It's not really a space heater. It's a fan that can put out warm air.

margecat · Oct 5, 2015

Years ago, my desk was in front of a very long wall of windows, with my back to the windows. In October of that year, we lost the heat in our office. Due to the bidding policy, it took until MAY to fix things, so we had NO heat all winter. It was 50 F in the room, and none of the management would do anything about it, despite repeated complaints from us. We couldn't even use the space heaters, as more than one would trip the circuits, and we couldn't work without our computers.

We hung blankets at the windows. The guy next to me saved those squares of styrofoam that come in packages, and made a patchwork "quilt" of them to cover his windows. I broke the dress code, and wore sweatpants--two layers of them, and a hoodie. I even put a coffee mug on my desk with a sign, "Will work for heat", which my office mates loved. (One of them had said that, with my keep-warm garb, I looked like a homeless person.) I'm always cold, so this was especially awful for me.

The final straw came when I said to my department head (who could plug his space heater in his office, BTW): "John, I'm sick and tired of this! No one in management gives a damn about us. I'm tired of getting colds; I'm tired of trying to type when my fingers are numb. Something needs to be done NOW!" He came back 15 minutes later with the big boss. All they could say was, "Oh, boy. It is cold in here." Then, it still took until May for the bid to go through.

Kat0121 · Oct 6, 2015

This is the one I have. It's the Arvinair Heat Stream Heater/fan. I have no idea how old it is or where DH got it. There is a similar one on ebay for $35 plus $10 shipping.

fan.JPG

Kat0121
Oct 6, 2015

micknsnicks2mom · Oct 6, 2015

pam, is it possible that you could do your work at home -- telecommuting? maybe your company hasn't done that before, but if the work could be done/phone calls made and received and etc at home... you could even attend any meetings via something like Skype. and you'd only need to show up at the actual work building every so often.

i know that for me, i would not be able to work in too cold conditions. and with the raynaud's i have, too cold happens very easily.

swampwitch · Oct 6, 2015

Ugh that's terrible. I would be shivering all bundled up, and drinking hot tea all day, probably wouldn't be very productive, either. And it's so wasteful to have heaters running because the ac is too cold, but what can you do?

Winchester · Oct 7, 2015

The powers-that-be would have a heart attack if we even mentioned working from home. That is not an option. I had a repairperson come to our house one morning and I wanted to stay at home while he was there. I brought plans home to review and did work the entire time I was at home....and still had to take vacation time in order to stay home. Not a lot of flexibility around here (for most of us, that is. Others are able to come and go at will).

The HVAC system is working fine; there are other women who are squeakier wheels and who like it chillier in their dept. (I have often said that if they would just keep their mouths shut for more than ten minutes, the hot air would dissipate

Seriously, you should hear them some days.) And, of course, they complain that they have hot flashes, etc. So they walk around in tank tops while we're in sweatshirts and flannel pants. The problem is that making it cooler for them does result in us freezing because we are by the outside wall. It's been a problem since we moved in. It's one huge room with cubes, so it does make it difficult to keep everybody happy. The problem is that the majority of people are cold, while 2-3 women are very warm.

It used to be that all of our cubes were on the same electrical lines so when one person would turn his heater on, it would break the circuit and the whole dept came crashing to a halt. And then it would have to be reset. Well, after a while, we didn't care anymore and we'd all turn our heaters on, wait for the system to crash, and then call maintenance to reset it. Again and again and.....

So they did re-wire the system for us. Now we can each run heaters, plus they put in electric registers for us (I actually have two registers in my cube). But we have no ceilings, so the heat goes.....up.....way up. I don't see their reasoning for even putting them in because the heat just goes.....up and out of the cubes. It's ridiculous. And so our heaters run 24/7 and our electrical registers run 24/7 full-tilt without stopping. I do turn mine off when I leave for the day, but others don't. It's like "Well, nobody else cares, so why should we?" And it's ridiculous that I go outside to walk and to warm up because it's warmer outside than it is in my cube....and it's not even 65 outside! (One of my registers does come in handy when it's wet outside. I come back from my walk, take my clothes off and drape socks and shoes over the register to dry. They're toasty dry til I leave work in the afternoon. The registers do work....they're on at 85 degrees constantly. But the heat doesn't circulate in the cubes; it just flows up and out.)

We are cold. I mean, we are really cold. And it's such an easy fix.

Draco · Oct 7, 2015

I have a space heater here as well. It does get cold, but lately it's been comfortable with just a sweater on. When my big boss comes around, I do have to hide the heater. though no one else cares about it as long as I remember to turn it off at night

LTS3 · Oct 7, 2015

How about a blanket, a regular one or a heated one? They're easily fold-able and stashed away in a drawer.

My desk is in an office that can get pretty cold (it's in the basement) but I never use my desk other than to dock my laptop at the end of the day. No cubicles, just desks along three walls and two islands of desks. I do keep a sweatshirt draped over my chair just in case. My actual work area is temperature controlled to be roughly 70F so it's not too bad unless I'm working under an air vent.

Winchester · Oct 7, 2015

We have blankets. I live in mine.

I'm thinking about getting a small electric blanket.

kathyfromcanada · Oct 7, 2015

Winchester said:
The powers-that-be would have a heart attack if we even mentioned working from home. That is not an option. I had a repairperson come to our house one morning and I wanted to stay at home while he was there. I brought plans home to review and did work the entire time I was at home....and still had to take vacation time in order to stay home. Not a lot of flexibility around here (for most of us, that is. Others are able to come and go at will).

The HVAC system is working fine; there are other women who are squeakier wheels and who like it chillier in their dept. (I have often said that if they would just keep their mouths shut for more than ten minutes, the hot air would dissipate

Seriously, you should hear them some days.) And, of course, they complain that they have hot flashes, etc. So they walk around in tank tops while we're in sweatshirts and flannel pants. The problem is that making it cooler for them does result in us freezing because we are by the outside wall. It's been a problem since we moved in. It's one huge room with cubes, so it does make it difficult to keep everybody happy. The problem is that the majority of people are cold, while 2-3 women are very warm.

It used to be that all of our cubes were on the same electrical lines so when one person would turn his heater on, it would break the circuit and the whole dept came crashing to a halt. And then it would have to be reset. Well, after a while, we didn't care anymore and we'd all turn our heaters on, wait for the system to crash, and then call maintenance to reset it. Again and again and.....

So they did re-wire the system for us. Now we can each run heaters, plus they put in electric registers for us (I actually have two registers in my cube). But we have no ceilings, so the heat goes.....up.....way up. I don't see their reasoning for even putting them in because the heat just goes.....up and out of the cubes. It's ridiculous. And so our heaters run 24/7 and our electrical registers run 24/7 full-tilt without stopping. I do turn mine off when I leave for the day, but others don't. It's like "Well, nobody else cares, so why should we?" And it's ridiculous that I go outside to walk and to warm up because it's warmer outside than it is in my cube....and it's not even 65 outside! (One of my registers does come in handy when it's wet outside. I come back from my walk, take my clothes off and drape socks and shoes over the register to dry. They're toasty dry til I leave work in the afternoon. The registers do work....they're on at 85 degrees constantly. But the heat doesn't circulate in the cubes; it just flows up and out.)

We are cold. I mean, we are really cold. And it's such an easy fix.

We have an infar red heater in our master bedroom. I get hot flashes too , but I wouldn't expect other's to freeze. Pretty self centered.

Willowy · Oct 8, 2015

An electric throw/blanket would probably be most efficient. Just cocoon up in that and the heat at least stays with you instead of floating off.

My office is fine in the summer (OK, I control the AC thermostat, LOL) but it's bad in the winter. It has maybe 20-foot ceilings so the heat just goes straight up, plus it's an old steam boiler that can't keep up with temperature fluctuations, so if the temp outside goes up it's too hot inside, and if the temp outside goes down it's too cold inside. And I'm not sure the old steam thermostats actually work---it seems to just be on of off. So it's never a good temp in the winter.

Does your company have any power-saving policies that might be enforced if you draw attention to them? Technically, according to the actual policy, Post Offices are supposed to be kept at 78 in the summer (haha, we'd never keep it that high!) and 68 in the winter. If yours is a larger company they may have some sort of policy.

The cold at work

In the kitchen with my cookies

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