Office Temperature, System Bias, and Diversity

You probably noted that ladies tend to complain about the air-conditioned offices being too chilly. Although they do not complain as much, many Asians, especially Asian women feel cold in the air-conditioned office buildings as well.

Human comfort is the occupants’ satisfaction with the surrounding thermal conditions and is essential to consider when designing a structure that will be occupied by people. Thermal comfort is calculated based on energy balance. If the heat leaving the occupant is greater than the heat entering the occupant, the thermal perception is “cold.” If the heat entering the occupant is greater than the heat leaving the occupant, the thermal perception is “warm” or “hot.” The mathematical calculation involved is described in complicated mathematical equation based on average characteristics of individual person, as many systems tend to be. It is officially codified by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

The problems is there is no such a thing as an average person. According CDC, average height for American men and women are about 5’9” and 5’3” while an average Asian women is about 5’2”. Similarly, while an average non Hispanic white American men and women weight about 197 lb and 165 lb, an average Korean women is at 125 lb. In a different dimension, average body surface area for adult men and women are about 1.9 m2 and1.6 m2. Taking into considerations for the differences, one study concluded that the neutral temperature for Japanese women was 77.36 degrees while it was 71.78 for European and North American males (Kingma and Lichtenbelt, Nature.com, 2015). Since the “average” in the standard was based on experiments conducted in the sixties with men, the office temperature was probably fine when most office workers were indeed men. If you look around the office today, the mix is obviously different. No wonder ladies feel chilly.

This office temperature analysis makes me start thinking what other potential biases are encoded in the system we all take for granted. We have all passed the point that diversity was considered a business nuisance. Most companies take diversity as not just necessity but arguably competitive advantage. For most businesses, diversity and inclusion are not only accepted, but embraced and celebrated. With that said, there are often biases engrained in systems which may not be intentional or obvious. Such is the case for the office temperature setting.

I have managed and worked with global teams with very diverse background and realize that diversity is still an uncomfortable topic for an open discussion for many managers and leaders. I have seen some very awkward communications throughout my career in different settings. If you are surrounded by others who share your perspectives, your career paths, and your outside interests, then it’s important to understand how your bias manifests with your teams and your leadership styles. Inclusive leaders need to maintain an objective and healthy perspective by tapping a wide range of different viewpoints. Informal network is a powerful advantage for many who share the same perspectives, same interests, and same cultural background. Inclusive leaders needs to be vigilant about not only how the decisions are made but also who gets heard and who gets excluded from the informal discussion. We are human, and we all have natural biases. Very often, having an open mind, stepping back and challenging the basic assumptions are still warranted and necessary. 

After all, according to a McKinsey study (Vivian Hunt etc, McKinsey & Company, February 2, 2015), the companies in the top quantile for gender diversity were 15% more likely to have financial returns that were above their national industry median, and the companies in the top quantile for racial/ethnic diversity were 35% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry median.

Next time when you set the office temperature, you might want to look around.