Jobs: Battle of the sexes is heating up

The battle of the sexes is no more fiercely fought than over the thermostat in the office, say environmental consultants.

In 84 per cent of cases, women want offices to be warmer and men want them cooler – sparking a fight over the air-conditioning and heaters, says a report from Delta-Simons.

In many offices both the heating and the air-conditioning were on full blast with no side willing to back down and a lack of strong leadership from management, says Delta-Simons MD Gareth Pickles.

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Mr Pickles said it all added up to a lot of money because workers don’t see the full costs for themselves.

He said: “If you were at home there is no way you’d have the heating on full blast and all the windows open, yet this is happening in office blocks up and down the land.

“We carry out energy audits and this subject comes up time and time again. What is needed is strong leadership and incentives to get people to change their habits.”

Mr Pickles said energy bills could be slashed by 20 per cent by implementing a range of measures including adopting fuel-efficient driving, switching off office equipment at night and fitting lighting controls.

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He added: “What you tend to find is that businesses which use a lot of energy are very focused on trying to bring that cost down because it’s such a significant part of their overhead. But for many offices that isn’t the case and they have no idea just how much money they’re wasting.”

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