Coworkers Passive - Aggressive comments made me uncomfortable. So unnecessary. (employed, job)
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Do you want people to commiserate about the passive/aggressive jerks in your office -or- help come up with possible solutions to making yourself more comfortable with the air flow and temperature.
Me, I'm all about finding practical solutions to problems. Can't change other people and jerks are everywhere.
This reminds of a time, a similar incident happened to me. I had my own office, but it had windows. It was freezing in my office and I like the cold. So I started wearing my winter coat. The vice president noticed and said I could buy a space heater on the company dime. Nice!
Well the IT guy was all bent out of shape, because he said the heat wasn't good for the computer. So, I just said, "My comfort is way more important to me, than a computer." No argument from him about the temperature in my office again.
The hot/cold debate is an age old problem. Pregnancy and menopause will make you hot. There are the fan-blowers and the sweater wearers. In my experience, the fan blowers always won but if you are right by where the air is blowing then you should be able to move or fix that somehow. If it is the vent and your allergies, that is a health problem and maybe you can find another solution. I would go to my manager about that. It is reasonable to not want the dust blowing in your face if you have allergies.
Mostly you have to put up with a temperature that you don't prefer. Where I worked it was always freezing because the air conditioning had to be on high for the areas of the building that were near doors. I don't know. We complained and had the temperature checked but they said it was fine, so we built igloos.
The pregnant lady is pregnant. She could be hormonal but usually having a baby mellows someone out. She will go away for a while or maybe forever, you never know. I wouldn't worry about her.
Well, I can relate. In an office environment there is often a conflict about temperatures. I worked in a 3-4 person office where one person was always cold. She used to stand on her desk and close up the vent over her desk. If this isnt an option, perhaps you could use cardboard, or something to block the vent?
In my case, this person was a bundle of real and imagined ailments, so she didnt get much sympathy from anyone, since everyone else was fine with the temp.
She sounds like another entitled pregnant chick. I think the way they treated you was pretty crappy and if it happened as you say it did, it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong. I wouldn't give this woman the time of day except when you have to do with her professionally. Same goes for her a little cronies!
Hopefully she'll be gone soon you will have to deal with her for like three months.
a. The "you can add more clothes but only take so much off" only goes so far. You can't type with gloves on and I've been in offices where your fingers were so cold they were too numb to type. Brought a thermometer in and measured temp in the lower 50s.
b. Space heaters only help so much in a big space with HVAC blowing. Plus they are considered a fire hazard and can blow the breakers. Been an issue where I work.
c. HVAC systems in office buildings are poorly designed, esp older ones. The design concept was to run them at full cold and then use heater strips to bring the temp back up. But the system has to be balanced just right to keep an even temp. A system we had was running so cold it was actually freezing up the condenser unit.
d. Finally, to rudeness. People are rude because it gets them what they want. Politeness is a sign of weakness and rudeness is power.
a. The "you can add more clothes but only take so much off" only goes so far. You can't type with gloves on and I've been in offices where your fingers were so cold they were too numb to type. Brought a thermometer in and measured temp in the lower 50s.
Well yes that is ridiculously cold. However, if an office is 70 degrees and someone is too cold then they can certainly put on a sweater and get some relief.
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b. Space heaters only help so much in a big space with HVAC blowing. Plus they are considered a fire hazard and can blow the breakers. Been an issue where I work.
They are not usually sanctioned but... that wouldn't (and didn't) stop me. A really tiny one, hidden under a desk and only brought out while at the desk, and locked away when not there, isn't going to trigger anything, especially if one uses a power strip that is grounded. No it won't heat up any larger area, but that's the point. If you get your feet warm and your legs warmed up, the heat will spread upwards a bit, reaching up a little towards your face. I know because I used to use one under my desk years ago. Or use a blanket or shawl. Those are certainly allowed.
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c. HVAC systems in office buildings are poorly designed, esp older ones. The design concept was to run them at full cold and then use heater strips to bring the temp back up. But the system has to be balanced just right to keep an even temp. A system we had was running so cold it was actually freezing up the condenser unit.
98% of the time the buildings I've been in have trended more warm than cold, but no one is ever really happy with the level of heating/cooling or airflow.
I used to sit right under an AC vent and it blew on me. It wasn't really that strong or cold but I didn't like it blowing on me all day. I couldn't move my seat nor close the vent so I got a piece of paper and taped it so it covered the vent so it wouldn't blow on me. It wasn't tightly covered so the air just blew out from the sides rather than directly on me. Not sure how large your vent is but for me a couple pieces of paper were enough to mostly cover the vent. It won't effect the temperature of the office but at least you won't have it blowing right on you.
yes and no. For some people (like me), we get allergies by sitting next to the a/c vent. I wouldn't want to sit there all year with a clogged nose that starts bleeding after a few months of breating the cold air, drying out my sinuses.
OP, can you switch seats with the pregnant woman? Or just sit somewhere else?
I would bring a thermometer to find out how cold it really is at your work station. And an air humidifier.
Yea, AC can cripple you when it comes to allergies. Ever since my first sinus infection, I can't tolerate AC.
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