168. Don’t forget to layer (Condition #17: temperature)

We all know the trope about gender and temperature. Men like it cold, women like it hot. And, for the most part, we unsurprisingly set the temperature in workplaces so that men are happier than women. Layer in conventions about workplace attire, and we have yet another set of conditions that are hostile to women in the workplace (sorry for the layer pun). And this isn’t just about preferences. A 2019 study in PLoS One found that increasing the temperature in workspaces had a greater positive impact on the cognitive performance of women than it had a negative impact on men. In other words, temperature can kinda make us smarter. And it’s better overall if we set the temperature to where the women in the room are comfortable. It’s obviously not all about cognitive performance and equity. It’s also about people’s comfort, and temperature is clearly one of those conditions that can’t be optimized for everyone simultaneously. I mean I might be weird, but sometimes being in a room or car that’s heated beyond my comfort level makes me feel nauseous within a couple of minutes, although I *love* exercising outdoors on super hot days. Anyway, this isn’t about me. It’s about the fact that temperature affects people’s ability to use their brains good, it affects their moods, it affects their physical comfort, it affects their wardrobe planning. And so, it affects your board effectiveness because it’s a condition that changes the way people engage. Ignore it at your peril.