It’s that time of year again and several of you have got in touch to say that your workspace is below the legal minimum temperature of 19°C in Brussels and 20°C in Luxembourg. We raise this point everywhere we can, but so far it is falling on deaf ears. What can we all do about it? We ask you to make some noise. Please contact your proximity team [1] every time you suspect that your work area is below the minimum temperature.
Please email your line manager every time you decide to go home for temperature reasons.
Let’s leave some evidence!
If no one complains, the ongoing Energy savings in Commission buildings exercise continues to be sold as a huge success. If the trade unions and staff associations raise the point of office temperatures and there is no data to support our complaints then nothing is done.
If you decide to go home (or to stay at home) because it is too cold in the office then please email your line manager and include any and all evidence and context, be that thermometer photos, your desk reference (for those hot desking in open plan (‘dynamic collaborative space’ (DCS))), proximity-team ticket references (current and past), a screenshot of outside temperature predictions and anything else you can think of. If you have a temperature-sensitive disability or health concern you could mention that in your email too.
Please don’t leave it to the same colleague to always contact the proximity team, it is too easy to then label that person as the problem, since no one else makes any noise.
A long overdue evaluation of the data
HR should now have 2 years of data on its ‘optimising the temperature regulation in our buildings’ aspect of the ongoing energy savings in Commission buildings exercise, but we’re not seeing any enthusiasm for our suggested evaluation nor lessons being learned on this topic. There is not even to be a specific communication this time round, it’s just business as usual.
In December 2023 we asked for an evaluation to be done on the first year of this lowered minimum temperature and for it to include the following:
- number of temperature-related tickets: opened, reopened, closed without action, closed with action, closed with a holding reply,
- building temperatures taken: centrally, spot checks, via private/individual thermometers,
- temperature variations found: between thermometers used, buildings, floors, days of the week,
- who is opening tickets: e.g. location, repetition, gender,
- workarounds found for the inevitable cold/hot spots in buildings and the time taken to identify the issue and implement the workaround,
- reasonable accommodation made for colleagues with medically justified temperature sensitivities,
- use of individual heaters: how many formal authorisations were sought/granted and how that energy use was counted[2].
Working from home or from the office: temperature counts!
Generation 2004 asks OIB/OIL to consider how far uncomfortable office temperatures might encourage colleagues to stay at home (teleworking remains (ostensibly) voluntary, in much the same way as membership of work signal groups) when those colleagues might have preferred to work from the office, as they have every right to do.
Genuine reasonable accommodation or social washing?
We make particular mention here of colleagues for whom ambient temperature is key for their health and ongoing participation in the workplace. What about the commitment to reasonable accommodation for those with disabilities? What about the diversity and inclusion in the workplace Action plan 2023 – 2024 promise to
‘… take an intersectional approach, acknowledging the combination or overlaps of multiple personal characteristics and identities, and how these intersections might contribute to experiences of unequal treatment and exclusion.’
Unfortunately, temperature and noise find themselves under the umbrella of working conditions, since they apply to everyone. There is no specific reasonable-accommodation aspect considered for these, however much they may impact someone’s ability to work. Consequently there is no mention of temperature on the dedicated staff matters site.
We find it overly simplistic to restrict reasonable accommodation to software, hardware, time and transport modifications. While we admit that temperature is a much less easy issue to address, its absence signals how out of touch (and binary!) the current vision of disability and reasonable accommodation is in general. As we’ve said before, according to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)) you do not need a medical certificate or a disability card to qualify as a ‘person with disability’. Disability is a social, not a medical, phenomenon.
When a minimum temperature is used as a target temperature…
Generation 2004 asks that OIB/OIL look closely at whether certain days of the week or workstations are notably colder and therefore avoided e.g. are Mondays affected by weekend building shutdowns? What about the first day back in the office after a general building shutdown over Christmas and new year?
Greenwashing?
Generation 2004 supports the EU Green Deal commitment to become climate neutral by 2030 and the corresponding Energy savings in Commission buildings exercise where the reduction in energy use is:
- real: not simply added to the energy bills of colleagues working from home,
- inclusive: done with the participation and feedback of colleagues for whom this directly impacts their participation in the workplace,
- transparent: done with clear expectations and timelines, engaging with staff on action and collaborating on solving issues raised.
And in the meantime?
While individual perceptions of temperature will always differ, including recognised differences depending on your gender, Generation 2004 considers that it is unacceptable that colleagues have had to come with blankets and gloves to work at the office, to bring in their own private heating appliances and break the rules, or that they are left with no alternative than to telework and bear the cost of heating/cooling at home.
Of course, we will keep you posted on any developments and as always, we appreciate your feedback.
If you appreciate our work, please consider becoming a member of Generation 2004.
[1] Contact: Brussels 55555 or open a ticket and Luxembourg. If you send us the contact links for other sites we’ll add them here. [2] We’ve found this for Luxembourg only, but why not give it a go, regardless of where you are?
