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It goes without saying that offices must be properly ventilated. It is less obvious what a moderate room temperature at the office should be. Some companies reason that employees are more alert and more productive if it is extra cool. However, scientific research contradicts this theory.
What is more, it turns out that female employees suffer disproportionately from cold offices. According to researchers at the University of Maastricht, current air conditioning systems are a product of the 1960s, when office jobs were usually filled by men. So rooms were kept at a temperature that a 40-year-old man weighing about 70 kilos experienced as comfortable. However, the researchers discovered that this is far from the ideal temperature for women, who are usually smaller and weigh less. Their metabolic rate is about 35 percent lower, so they feel the cold more quickly.
Most recent findings show that a comfortable 22 degrees leads to the best performance on the work floor. For women that can be as high as 24.5 degrees. The ideal room temperature for a mixed company – and which company isn’t – should be around 23 degrees.
Just as important is that the office temperature is stable. Fluctuations caused by incidental sunlight – and an air conditioner that needs to blow too hard to compensate comfortably for temperature fluctuations – are anything but pleasant for office workers.
In addition to room temperature, humidity is also important. The relative humidity should be between 40 and 60 percent, both at home and at the office. Air that is too dry is unpleasant, but air that is too damp is no fun at the office either. Plants in office spaces can help to balance the humidity. If no ventilation system has been installed then it is high time to invest in one. Mechanical ventilation is absolutely essential to efficiently regulate the air refreshment cycle and keep the humidity under control.
