low office temperature

My girlfriend works in an office that has an unreasonably low-set AC temperature. Most of her coworkers move back and forth between a hot assembly area and the ACed office, but my girlfriend spends all of her time in the office in front of a computer.

The temperatures have caused her to become chronically ill, including irregular menstral period, constant headaches, and cramps despite wearing a coat and sweater in the middle of summer. She has suffered miserably. She has visited a doctor who concluded that her symptoms were a result of the office temperature, and wrote a letter to that effect.

Her boss and the HR department at her company have ignored her requests to relocate her and have forbidden her to use a space heater, even though they have been given the letter from her doctor.

What can she do to solve this problem?

What’s the AC set at?

A few thoughts:

Has her doctor given her an actual diagnosis that might fit under the Americans with Disabilities Act? If so, her employer could be forced to accomodate her “condition”. She might need to consult an attorney specializing in labor issues.

Has she tried calling her state OSHA office? It might be worth a try.

Have your girlfriend place a thermometer in the office, and determine what the temperature is.

And, what state is this in? As it is, I believe there are federal standards for workplace temperature, and some states may have more stringent or more detailed requirements.

I’ve been through that kind of discomfort from air conditioned offices and I think she has the right to complain and advocate for improvement in her conditions. But I don’t know that one can prove a connection between being chilled and illness.

ASHRAE Standard 55-1981 recommends a temperature range of 68 - 76 [sup]o[/sup]F, which apparently OSHA enforces. Complaints about unsafe/unheathly workplace conditions can be made to OSHA directly.

The temperature hovers around 70-72. Which apparently is within the safe range.

She DOES have this letter from her doctor. Does this make any difference?

She lives in Tennessee.

Since when is 70-72 considered unreasonably low?? I had the idea you were talking about temps in the low 60s. I don’t see as there’s much she can do, aside from dressing warmer. She can try complaining to OSHA, and citing the doctor’s note, but I don’t know how much good they can, or will, do.

Well, 70-72 is in the right neighborhood. Although in Tenn. where it’s usually more humid, that temp might feel like an ice box. And that might be the problem.

Without the cooperation of her company, or office manager, she might be SOL. Companies usually take none-too-kindly to getting turned in to OSHA. But it might be worth the risk.

Realistically, if her office manager is a dick and refuses to even TRY to accomodate her, she may have to quit.

I’m sorry to have to inform you of this, Mr… DANGER.

Rocky Rococo
:smiley:

Wow. That doesn’t seem like an unreasonable temp at all. And you are sure her menstrual problems are a result of this?

Drinking hot tea during the day helps. Regular meals helps. A heating pad or hot water bottle on her chair can help.
Are you sure she isn’t suffering from hypothyroid? Is she a smoker, which would reduce her circulation. Does she eat properly?

best wishes

She eats very well, as do many Japanese (which she is). She is also teeny tiny like many Japanese. She doesnt smoke.

I doubt its hypothyroid. She had a number of tests to diagnose this problem.

She tells me cold office syndrome is recognized in Japan, but not so much here, and said although she had trouble locating information about it in English, there is a lot in Japanese.

It looks as if she is SOL, though, yes?

It could be more of a humidity problem, than a temperature one. If the humidity is very low, it can feel much colder than it actually is, since perspiration evaporates faster. Also, is she in the path of any of the AC vents? While the office air may be at 70-72 degrees, the air coming out of the vents is typically around 20 degrees colder than ambient.

Be sure that your friend documents and dates everything – a copy of the written complaint to her supervisor(s) with a request for a change in work area, a copy of the doctor’s letter, a list of efforts on her part to warm herself, etc. I also think that she should talk to OSHA.

I found very little information about the problem, but, interestingly enough, the site that I did find that linked cool rooms and menstrual cycles was by someone who is Japanese, I think.

The earliest air conditioners were designed as dehumidifiers. Cooling very humid ambient warm air to a comfortable office temperature will inevitably rob it of humidity, as cool air can hold much less water vapor than warm air.

In light of this, I think QED would be on to something, provided that she sweats or is situated in front of a vent. But I think her body would shunt blood away from her extremities if she were truly cold, and if she were in the path of a vent , a complaint of a draft would probably provoke a quick office manager solution.

remember:

"Women are always cold. And it is our job, as men, to warm them up."

She is, in fact, near a vent, which she has complained about.

My suggestion, assuming senior management intends to do nothing, stems from my very similar experience.

Here in Florida, the coldest place in the state is Bloomingdales. (Although The Bonefish Grill comes in a close second.)

Because senior management can only adjust the temp in my office based on consensus of the entire office, her strength is in numbers. She should survey her co-workers and get a few more people to be vocal about being cold. Failing that: bring in a heated blanket. I keep an afghan my mother made, in my office. When it rains here and the humidity skyrockets (from 80% to “breathing through a garden hose”) the same temp inside feels about 10 degrees cooler. That’s when I get out my afghan and wrap up.

And yes, my co-workers make fun of me when I bring my blankie to meetings, but they are the ones shivering while I am warm enough to concentrate on the business at hand.

Yeah, well, as I said, most of her co-workers move back and forth between a hot assmbly area with lots of robots and the overly-cold office. To many of them, the office is a welcome relief.

I bought her a small space heater which she stuck under her desk and which completely alleviated her symptoms within a couple of days. One of her co-workers, a bloated fat sweaty turgid blob of a man, snitched on her to the safety department, and she was informed she couldnt use anything electric (which I assume means an electic blanket as well).

70-72 isn’t an unreasonably low AC setting. It sounds like your girlfriend does really have a health problem. It needs to be addressed as such. Calling 70-72 degrees unreasonably cold sounds kind of silly and the HR department probably treats it that way.

Has she talked to the safety department? Perhaps if she explained the problem to them they could help her find a “safe” way to heat herself. Perhaps an electric blanket with an automatic cut off?

Oh yeah, one more thing. A blanket isn’t a bad idea even if she can’t get an electric one. A big thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders will protect her from the draft and make her feel a lot warmer.