Question: Was I an asshole at work today?
It’s finally getting warm in the office, enough that the previous two workdays I turned on the air conditioner to 74 degrees (Farenheit, or 23.3 Centigrade, for those who use that). Two of my coworkers, who got in later than me expressed relief that it was on finally, that it was so much better than the prior week or so.
For me, though, 74 degrees meant the blasted thing was blowing air most of the day and as I have Raynaud Syndrome, I was terribly uncomfortable, teeth chattering, shivering and struggling to type on the computer with my numb fingers. That happens with Raynaud’s, when it’s even just chilly and I’m sitting still or standing still, I get very cold, and dressing warmer helps without fixing it.
Today, though, today I got in first and I set the air conditioner on 75 degrees instead of 74 degrees. Throughout the day it only cycled on a handful of times, and only for short periods, not enough to freeze all the heat out of my body. And I enjoyed the occasional breeze that blew in through the wide open window next to me.
Heck, I felt a touch warm, myself (and for me that’s far superior to feeling teeth chattering cold).
I know my coworkers were probably uncomfortably hot and sweating in our cabin, but nobody actually said anything aloud to me.
I also know that out of the four of us who share that cabin, I’m the only one who knows how to turn the air conditioner on. It’s a weird system, a standard remote control, but a very loose integration with a thermostat on the wall. Only two of us in the company actually know how to use the thermostat. We’re not keeping it a secret, we’ve explained over and over and over again to everyone else, but no one gets it. Everyone else just uses the remote control, which ends up causing problems outside business hours…
Since last summer, the remote in our cabin walked off. It had been on the desk underneath the air conditioner for the past eight years. But the guy who sat there moved desks, leaving the remote there, and then left the company. Now the remote is nowhere to be found.
Sure, the three people who were looking a bit uncomfortable in the heat were the ones who cleaned the spare desk and threw away all the accumulated junk, so in my mind, they bear a bit more responsibility for the lack of an air conditioner remote than I do.
But still, was I an asshole for prioritizing my comfort in the heat over my coworkers’ obvious, but silent, suffering, knowing that I, and only I, could fix it for them?
Follow-up Question: Will I be an asshole at work again tomorrow?
It’s finally getting warm in the office, enough that the previous two workdays I turned on the air conditioner to 74 degrees (Farenheit, or 23.3 Centigrade, for those who use that). Two of my coworkers, who got in later than me expressed relief that it was on finally, that it was so much better than the prior week or so.
For me, though, 74 degrees meant the blasted thing was blowing air most of the day and as I have Raynaud Syndrome, I was terribly uncomfortable, teeth chattering, shivering and struggling to type on the computer with my numb fingers. That happens with Raynaud’s, when it’s even just chilly and I’m sitting still or standing still, I get very cold, and dressing warmer helps without fixing it.
Today, though, today I got in first and I set the air conditioner on 75 degrees instead of 74 degrees. Throughout the day it only cycled on a handful of times, and only for short periods, not enough to freeze all the heat out of my body. And I enjoyed the occasional breeze that blew in through the wide open window next to me.
Heck, I felt a touch warm, myself (and for me that’s far superior to feeling teeth chattering cold).
I know my coworkers were probably uncomfortably hot and sweating in our cabin, but nobody actually said anything aloud to me.
I also know that out of the four of us who share that cabin, I’m the only one who knows how to turn the air conditioner on. It’s a weird system, a standard remote control, but a very loose integration with a thermostat on the wall. Only two of us in the company actually know how to use the thermostat. We’re not keeping it a secret, we’ve explained over and over and over again to everyone else, but no one gets it. Everyone else just uses the remote control, which ends up causing problems outside business hours…
Since last summer, the remote in our cabin walked off. It had been on the desk underneath the air conditioner for the past eight years. But the guy who sat there moved desks, leaving the remote there, and then left the company. Now the remote is nowhere to be found.
Sure, the three people who were looking a bit uncomfortable in the heat were the ones who cleaned the spare desk and threw away all the accumulated junk, so in my mind, they bear a bit more responsibility for the lack of an air conditioner remote than I do.
But still, was I an asshole for prioritizing my comfort in the heat over my coworkers’ obvious, but silent, suffering, knowing that I, and only I, could fix it for them?
Follow-up Question: Will I be an asshole at work again tomorrow?
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