If you work in an office, you know the following scenes are not unusual: a coworker wearing a woolly sweater at her desk on a 90-degree day; a woman vigorously rubbing her hands together for warmth in the conference room; or two colleagues engaged in a passive aggressive battle over the thermostat.
And if it seems that more often than not women are the ones proclaiming, “It’s freezing in here!” there may be a scientific reason for that. Believe it or not, the temperature of most office buildings is determined by a formula known as the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied, or PPD – which was developed by a Danish researcher in the 1960s.
There’s one problem. The PPD was based on the metabolic rate of a 155-pound, 40-year-old man. Metabolic rate is the amount of energy you will exert while at rest, and it’s largely based on one’s size and gender. Women typically have a lower metabolic rate than men, leaving them more vulnerable to the cold.
Recent research from the Netherlands had women perform light office work and measured their metabolic rates. They were found to be 20 to 32 percent lower than the rate used in the PPD. No wonder women are chilly.
Not only is the PPD a little bit Mad Men in its methodology, but the aggressive use of air conditioning in office buildings is a huge energy drain. Plus, cold workers have been found to be less productive. If we want to increase productivity and comfort, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions, maybe it’s time we update the PPD.
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Photo, posted April 21, 2010, courtesy of Lara604 via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio, with script contribution from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.