A BC Hydro study finds that workplaces in the province are making summer the coldest season on the calendar.
Overuse of air conditioning has made many commercial spaces and offices uncomfortable, and has even led to conflicts between employees and employers, the study says.
“Offices across B.C. have their AC as low as 20 degrees in the summer months. BC Hydro recommends you have it about 23 to 26 degrees,” said BC Hydro’s Susie Rieder. And in these frequently frigid workspaces lies a gender gap.
“Four times as many women as men complained that the office is too cold during the summer months,” Rieder added.
This leads many women to bring blankets, jackets and scarves to keep at their work spaces. Even space heaters to keep their feet warm.
“Blanket and scarves, we’re draped in them,” said an office worker named Karen who requested her last name be withheld.
She said the chilly conditions in her office prevent her from wearing dresses.
“Dresses? Forget it. Short dresses, I don’t wear them anymore.”
Loreen Regmander works in a downtown Victoria office and feels the same summer chill.
“By the end of the day I’m freezing and I go outside and it’s way hotter.”
The Hydro report says that as long as teeth are chattering, lips are moving.
“Temperature is one of the three most talked about things aroud the water cooler. It’s right up there with Netflix and what you’re watching, and the weather outside,” says Rieder.
