Handy Tips: Why Work in a Cold-Ish Room or How Temperature Affects Your Productivity

In Handy Tips, we find ways that can improve your life and make it easier and explain why these tips work. Today, we will tell you why working in a room, office, or home, where it’s a bit chilly, can boost your productivity and benefit your cognitive abilities.

It is better to work in a cool room or office as heat reduces overall productivity.

How does it work?

Global warming threatens not only ecology but also productivity. Agricultural workers and those who spend most of their working time on the street feel the worst. According to the US Bureau of Economic Research, when the temperature exceeds +15°C, with each degree, productivity drops by 1.7%. It turns out that on a hot day, employees work an hour less than expected.

By the way, office workers also suffer from this. According to another study of the same NBER, white-collar workers show their skills worse in a hot room. Researchers compared the marks of 8 thousand children, considering the temperature at which the test was conducted. The grades began to deteriorate already at a temperature of +21°C! If it rose above +30°C, then the math grades became worse by 1.6%. This is because the brain uses a lot of energy and creates heat that dissipates worse when the room is hot. Consequently, some mental tasks are more challenging to fulfill.