Employee 'Going To Pass Out' and Unable To Change Thermostat Sparks Debate

An employee shared their upset this week online after they were unable to adjust the heat at work, leaving them feeling like they were going to "pass out."

In a post on Reddit's r/antiwork forum—a subreddit designed for people to share their complaints about work and ask for support with work-related struggles—user u/snwflkobsidian posted a picture of the thermostat at their workplace.

The unit read the temperature as 87 degrees and had been written on in a marker pen to read the words: "Do not touch." Alongside the image, the Redditor wrote: "Is there anything I can do? My boss won't answer me, it's 90 degrees and it feels like I'm going to pass out."

The U.S. does not have a mandated workplace temperature standard, but the general recommendation for employers is to keep the thermostat between 68- and 76-degrees Fahrenheit.

While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) do have a clause on temperature and conditions during work, it says that: "Office temperature and humidity conditions are generally a matter of human comfort rather than hazards that could cause death or serious physical harm. OSHA cannot cite the General Duty Clause for personal discomfort."

Anyone who has worked in a shared office will attest to the drama that can be caused as a result of the ambient temperature, with many conversations among colleagues centering around where the thermostat should rest.

In fact, a study from 2010 revealed that getting the air temperature right can have a very real impact on worker productivity.

The study conducted by researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai investigated the impact of the environment on workers with the help of 21 voluntary participants who performed a series of tests in an environment with differing temperatures.

It was found that an environment that is too warm or too cold negatively affected comfort and well-being and that those who were uncomfortable had to exert more effort to maintain performance and had lower motivation to do their work.

With over 29,000 upvotes and thousands of comments, Reddit users rushed to share thoughts and advice with the employee.

In a later response, the poster revealed that they worked in a store and one commenter suggested: "Call corporate and complain and also mention that customers are complaining about the uncomfortable temperature in the store and how they can't stand to shop there. I hate shopping in stores when the AC is broken. I spend less because I can't stand to shop long."

Another reply said: "Run a hot hair dryer under it. It'll think the room is 110 degrees or more and the AC will kick in. This is assuming the AC is on but it's set for a high temp setting before it kicks in."

Newsweek has reached out to u/snwflkobsidian for comment. We were unable to verify the details of this case.