Check out my new book Intentional on accomplishing more with the science of goal attainment. Read more →
Home / Articles / Energy

The exact temperature to set your office thermostat to be the most productive

Research has shown that working in a room that's too hot or too cold can have a huge impact on your productivity. With summer right around the corner, setting your office thermostat to the right temperature is a great way…

Article too boring? Click here for a random one!

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”]
[et_pb_row admin_label=”row”]
[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Summer can be harsh on your productivity. A recent survey1 found that during the summer, workplace productivity drops 20%, attendance drops 18%, project turnaround times increase 13%, and people are 45% more distracted.2

The temperature of your office has a huge impact on your productivity. So what’s the exact best temperature to set your office thermostat to? Here’s what the research shows:

  • 70-72ºF (21-22ºC) is the temperature range that will make you the most productive.
  • Any temperature above 73º decreases your productivity. At 86º and above, your productivity drops to about 90% of what it was before, a 10% decrease.
  • Any temperature below 68º also decreases your productivity. Lower temperatures increase the amount of errors you make, and they also increase your chances of getting sick.

perftempSource. (Made a couple of my own modifications to the chart.)

Another tip used by a couple of people I’ve worked with: If you have a lot of meetings or people like to stop by your office to chat quite a bit, lower the temperature of your office and put on a sweater. Your visitors will get cold faster, and your meetings will speed up considerably.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
[/et_pb_row]
[/et_pb_section]


  1. Source: http://officepulse.captivate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Captivate-Summer-Hours-Release-Final.pdf 

  2. Note: Next week is “Focus Week” on A Year of Productivity – an entire week with posts dedicated to improving your focus. 

Chris Bailey
About the author

Chris Bailey

Chris is the bestselling author of four books—Intentional, How to Calm Your Mind, Hyperfocus, and The Productivity Project—which have been published in more than 40 languages. He also hosts the Intentional AI podcast, writes a biweekly newsletter, The Recap, and speaks to audiences around the world on how they can become more productive without hating the process.

The Article Randomizer

Click the mystery box below to read a random article from the archives. Will you get one that changes your life—or a terrible one I wrote forever ago?

Read something random