Freezing in the Office Aircon: Staying Warm at Your Desk

It’s 33°C outside and you’re wearing a cardigan, a scarf and socks at your desk. Your colleague across the room is in short sleeves and says the temperature is fine.

Welcome to the typical Singapore office where you may be surrounded by penguin and polar bear colleagues.

Why you feel colder than your colleagues

No…you’re not imagining it.

A 2015 study in the journal Nature Climate Change pointed out that standard office temperature settings were based on the resting metabolism of a 40-year-old man. Many women, smaller people and older adults generate less body heat at rest, so the same room feels colder to them. More on that in cold hands and feet.

Where you sit matters too. A desk under an aircon vent can feel several degrees colder than one across the room.

Why a cold office also makes you ache

When you’re cold, you tense up without noticing: shoulders creep towards your ears, you hunch over your keyboard. Hold that for eight hours and your neck, shoulders and upper back ache by evening. Warming up helps those muscles let go. See stress and tight shoulders and tech neck.

Simple fixes, from free upwards

• Move away from the vent, or ask facilities to adjust its direction.
• Keep layers at your desk: a cardigan, a light scarf for your neck, socks. Your neck and feet lose heat fast.
• Get up every 30–45 minutes. A walk to the pantry warms you and loosens your back.
• Warm drinks through the day.
• A heat pad on your lap or lower back for 20 minutes when you feel yourself tensing up.

Using a heat pad at the office

• Check your office rules first. Some workplaces restrict personal electrical appliances.
• Lap or lower back work best. Sit against the pad lightly rather than pressing your full weight into it.
• Low setting, 20 minutes, then off. Set a timer so it doesn’t run all afternoon. See how long to use a heating pad.
• Use a proper adapter if the pad has a 2-pin plug, and don’t run it through a chain of extension cords under your desk. See using a 2-pin plug heat pad safely.
• Switch off and unplug before you leave your desk for a meeting or lunch.
• Keep the cord clear of chair wheels and walkways.
• No socket at your desk? Stick-on patches are the alternative, and the options are compared in electric vs microwave vs stick-on heat packs.

When cold hands aren’t just the aircon

See a doctor if:

• Your fingers or toes turn white, then blue, then red when cold (Raynaud’s)
• You feel cold all the time, even outdoors, along with tiredness, weight gain or dry skin (your thyroid may need checking)
• You have numbness or burning in your feet, especially with diabetes

If you have diabetes or numbness, don’t put a heat pad on your feet. Reduced feeling means you may not notice a burn. See who should not use a heating pad.

Office aches that stay after you’ve warmed up? Read upper back pain from desk work.

Picking one for the office: the size guide covers what fits a desk chair. If half your team is in the same position, see corporate heat pad gifting.

Clinically reviewed by: Nigel Chua (Hand Occupational Therapist) & Louise Yow (Physiotherapist). This article is general information, not a diagnosis. electricheatpad.com sells electric heat pads.