Dive Brief:
- Technology might give employees individual climate controls in the office, reports the Wall Street Journal. Advanced office architecture, a new app and sensor technology could end temperature battles between employees who like it warm and those who like it cool.
- A building being renovated in Italy will allow workers to have portable climate-control devices called “thermal bubbles,” writes WJS. Comfy, a smartphone app, lets workers order a 10-minute blast of warm or cool air that connects to a ventilation system.
- Workers at a Deloitte firm in Amsterdam can use their smartphones to download a building app that allows them to access and adjust their lighting, heating and cooling preferences. Amazon and other workplaces are experimenting with electronic climate-control devices.
Dive Insight:
Technology that can make office spaces heated, cooled and well-lit based on employees’ preferences is a breakthrough in workplace comfort. Two years ago, a New York Times article started an internet debate over why offices tend to be super-cooled in the summer — uncomfortably so for many office denizens.
While deciding whether the AC should be on full-blast during the summer is a yearly debate for some places, more employers and construction companies are looking at ways to improve wellness at work through the way the office is built. Like most wellness programs, a beautiful office can lead to improved productivity, better retention and costs saved down the line.
