女性在工作中感到冷的原因

女性在工作中感到冷的原因

Once I settled into my first office job, I realized I was going to need two things to do my job well: a blanket and a space heater. The office was freezing. In fact, most offices are colder than what I would call comfortable. Thankfully, since that first job, I haven't had to bring my own heavy-duty heating supplies to work. However, nearly every woman I know makes sure to have a sweater on hand at the office — even on 90-degree days.

當(dāng)我開始我的第一份辦公室工作時(shí)，我意識到我需要兩樣?xùn)|西來做好我的工作:一條毯子和暖氣。辦公室里很冷。事實(shí)上，大多數(shù)辦公室都比我所說的舒適要冷。值得慶幸的是，從第一份工作開始，我就不用自己帶重型供暖設(shè)備去上班了。然而，我認(rèn)識的幾乎每個(gè)女性都會確保在辦公室里有一件毛衣——即使是在90度的天氣里。

Indoor climate control formulas were calculated with men in mind. It may be time to re-do the math a bit. (Photo: alphaspirit/Shutterstock)

And now we know why.

現(xiàn)在我們知道為什么了。

Researchers Boris Kingma and Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt argue in their study published in the journal Nature Climate Change that indoor climates such as offices and residential buildings are based on the needs of men, not women, as Lloyd Alter explained when he looked into why our offices feel like walk-in coolers.

研究人員鮑里斯·金馬和沃特·范·馬肯·利滕·貝爾特在《自然氣候變化》雜志上發(fā)表的研究報(bào)告中稱，室內(nèi)氣候，如辦公室和住宅建筑，是以男性的需求為基礎(chǔ)的，而不是女性，正如勞埃德·阿爾特在研究為什么我們的辦公室感覺像冷藏室時(shí)解釋的那樣。

Not only does this lead to a large percentage of the workforce feeling like they are battling hypothermia, it also means a less energy-efficient workplace. The study suggests that by adjusting the temperature to factor in the female body's metabolic rate, we can make women more comfortable and save energy.

這不僅會讓大部分員工覺得他們正在與體溫過低做斗爭，也意味著工作場所的能源效率會降低。研究表明，通過調(diào)節(jié)溫度來調(diào)節(jié)女性身體的新陳代謝率，我們可以讓女性更舒適，節(jié)約能量。

Based on an old model

以舊模型為基礎(chǔ)

The original formula for indoor climate regulation standards was created in the 1960s. One key number in that thermal comfort model is the metabolic rate of a human. Who is the base model used to represent all human needs? A 40-year-old man who weighs 154 pounds.

最初的室內(nèi)氣候調(diào)節(jié)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)制定于20世紀(jì)60年代。熱舒適模型中的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵數(shù)字是人體的代謝率。誰是用來代表所有人類需求的基本模型?一個(gè)40歲的男人，體重154磅。

As women tend to be smaller than men and have a higher percentage of body fat, they have lower metabolic rates. In fact, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, men have a metabolic rate that is about 23% higher than women's. Older people also tend to have lower metabolic rates. The study authors believe that in order to make work environments comfortable for both men and women, the formula should be adjusted to factor in the needs of both sexes and all ages.

由于女性往往比男性更小，身體脂肪的比例更高，所以她們的代謝率更低。事實(shí)上，根據(jù)發(fā)表在《應(yīng)用生理學(xué)雜志》上的一項(xiàng)研究，男性的代謝率比女性高約23%。老年人的新陳代謝率也比較低。該研究的作者認(rèn)為，為了讓工作環(huán)境對男性和女性都舒適，模型應(yīng)該根據(jù)性別和所有年齡段的需求進(jìn)行調(diào)整。

Metabolic rates weren't the only factor the authors acknowledged when it comes to men and women's preferences for temperature. They note that in some professions, many men wear suits that require a shirt, jacket and long pants, while many women favor lighter clothes including sleeveless tops or dresses and skirts. How much clothing one wears also contributes to the problem.

代謝率并不是研究人員承認(rèn)的影響男性和女性對溫度偏好的唯一因素。他們指出，在一些職業(yè)中，許多男性穿的西裝需要襯衫、夾克和長褲，而許多女性喜歡較輕的衣服，包括無袖上衣或連衣裙和裙子。一個(gè)人穿多少衣服也會導(dǎo)致這個(gè)問題。

Kingma and van Marken Lichtenbelt conclude that by changing the formula, and therefore saving countless women from shivering at their desks, we could remove the bias against women that currently exists. And, as an added bonus, raising the temperature by a few degrees would help reduce the energy consumption of office buildings. A win for women and for the planet.

金馬和范馬爾肯·利希滕貝爾特得出結(jié)論，通過改變這種模式，從而使無數(shù)女性免于在辦公桌前瑟瑟發(fā)抖，我們可以消除目前存在的對女性的偏見。另外，把溫度提高幾度還有助于降低辦公樓的能耗。這是女性和地球的勝利。