Not allowed a fan on my desk. Is this legal?
Discussion
Hi All
Bit of a strange thing has happened…
We have just moved offices at work, our old office was a bit of a dump and our new office is lovely. All the furniture is new, it is very presentable, everything matching etc.
The new office has AC.
The problem is, I generally run very hot, even in the winter, my desk fan is blowing away, so while we have AC, it's never enough to cool me down without making everyone else cold – so that desk fan is always essential to me. It’s 12” and blends in with the other furniture in the office.
I am being told that I am not allowed to have the fan because they want all the desks to look the same and have no clutter. This seems utterly bizarre to me.
For reference, as a whole, the company is generally nice to work for and I get treated very well. I’ve had significant pay rises multiple times and have had great career advancement… This just seems so stupid and petty to me though. My work comfort is very important to me – to the point that if I really cannot have a fan on, I’ll move on to another job…
Before I do something so drastic over such a small issue, I thought I would ask can my company legally stop me from having a desk fan?
Bit of a strange thing has happened…
We have just moved offices at work, our old office was a bit of a dump and our new office is lovely. All the furniture is new, it is very presentable, everything matching etc.
The new office has AC.
The problem is, I generally run very hot, even in the winter, my desk fan is blowing away, so while we have AC, it's never enough to cool me down without making everyone else cold – so that desk fan is always essential to me. It’s 12” and blends in with the other furniture in the office.
I am being told that I am not allowed to have the fan because they want all the desks to look the same and have no clutter. This seems utterly bizarre to me.
For reference, as a whole, the company is generally nice to work for and I get treated very well. I’ve had significant pay rises multiple times and have had great career advancement… This just seems so stupid and petty to me though. My work comfort is very important to me – to the point that if I really cannot have a fan on, I’ll move on to another job…
Before I do something so drastic over such a small issue, I thought I would ask can my company legally stop me from having a desk fan?
There's probably someone else in your office moaning that their desk is right under the aircon and they are getting a bad back/feeling too cold because of it.
Before dying on this particular hill have you considered asking for a desk move to be closer to the aircon outlet?
Or just asking them to make it colder and standing your ground on that. People can always 'layer up' rather than undress.
I work in an office with a clean desk policy like this and I have to say I like it - I used to have a desk fan on my desk in our old place too, but just don't need it as my team has a sensible policy towards the aircon temp.
We also have 'hotdesking' (pun intended) which allows people to choose a desk that suits their particular needs - one side of our building is sunnier than the other, some people like it, some don't. Ditto one part is a mobile phone notspot, some people like the peace and quiet this brings.
Before dying on this particular hill have you considered asking for a desk move to be closer to the aircon outlet?
Or just asking them to make it colder and standing your ground on that. People can always 'layer up' rather than undress.
I work in an office with a clean desk policy like this and I have to say I like it - I used to have a desk fan on my desk in our old place too, but just don't need it as my team has a sensible policy towards the aircon temp.
We also have 'hotdesking' (pun intended) which allows people to choose a desk that suits their particular needs - one side of our building is sunnier than the other, some people like it, some don't. Ditto one part is a mobile phone notspot, some people like the peace and quiet this brings.
Edited by PurpleTurtle on Monday 22 May 16:57
Is the fan yours or company property? And has it been PAT tested? I guess that could be one way they might try to wiggle out of allowing it if you pushed the issue.
But it seems a bit petty on their part, it's just a fan, hardly the worst thing you could have. Do they allow personal effects (photos, plants, etc) or is it a sterile environment?
But it seems a bit petty on their part, it's just a fan, hardly the worst thing you could have. Do they allow personal effects (photos, plants, etc) or is it a sterile environment?
TREMAiNE said:
as a whole, the company is generally nice to work for and I get treated very well. I’ve had significant pay rises multiple times and have had great career advancement…
If this is the case, and I don't doubt it is, I can't believe that they won't work with you to find some kind of compromise.If you have to pursue a legal avenue to keep a desk fan, you may aswell just leave.
As others have said, pursue a desk move to be under the AC outlet. You cannot fail to freeze your ass off sitting there.
Douglas Quaid said:
If you’re so hot you need a fan even with aircon it might be worth a visit to the doctor.
I drink coffee and then sweat buckets. Working in an office is always a compromise, you cannot satisfy everyone. Leaving a job over something petty that could be solved is moronic.Many thanks, all…
To answer a few questions/explain a few things/elaborate a little…
I have always ran really hot my entire life and have been to the doctors about it – they cannot find anything to diagnose. Even at home, I have the AC running all the time and in the winter when we have the central heating on so the other half doesn’t get cold, I’ll have a fan on all the time.
At work, I sit underneath where the AC is and chose that desk for that reason – the issue is that there is no way to get a temperature we’re all happy with – I accept that I am the problem here, not them but that is where the desk fan has always been my saviour.
I’ve had the fan at work for years, it’s regularly cleaned and it has always been PAT tested. The small USB fans just aren’t sufficient.
Moving into another room simply would not work for the job itself so not an option.
Regarding a comment asking why I would leave if I think its such a small issue – at the end of the day it is and even though it is important to me, I do acknowledge it is a small issue but the truth it it’s more like the straw that broke the camels back. Though the new office is lovely, for me personally, there are a lot of issues I have with it. The new desks are tiny and do not provide space required to fulfil my role (but outside of my department, nobody else needs the bigger desks and management want everyone to have the same desk so it looks nicer, screwing my team and I over), the chairs are uncomfortable, the room is much noisier than the old one and a few other issues… All of which I have just got on with but the fan thing has really f
ked me off.
I’ve just got back from a 3 week holiday, so I am a little cranky, have jet lag and holiday blues so I won’t make any silly decisions just yet, but the last few months I have been on the borderline of leaving (for a number of issues) and the business has been fighting to keep me, so it just seems so stupid to me that I can’t have a fking fan on my desk because it doesn’t look nice.
To answer a few questions/explain a few things/elaborate a little…
I have always ran really hot my entire life and have been to the doctors about it – they cannot find anything to diagnose. Even at home, I have the AC running all the time and in the winter when we have the central heating on so the other half doesn’t get cold, I’ll have a fan on all the time.
At work, I sit underneath where the AC is and chose that desk for that reason – the issue is that there is no way to get a temperature we’re all happy with – I accept that I am the problem here, not them but that is where the desk fan has always been my saviour.
I’ve had the fan at work for years, it’s regularly cleaned and it has always been PAT tested. The small USB fans just aren’t sufficient.
Moving into another room simply would not work for the job itself so not an option.
Regarding a comment asking why I would leave if I think its such a small issue – at the end of the day it is and even though it is important to me, I do acknowledge it is a small issue but the truth it it’s more like the straw that broke the camels back. Though the new office is lovely, for me personally, there are a lot of issues I have with it. The new desks are tiny and do not provide space required to fulfil my role (but outside of my department, nobody else needs the bigger desks and management want everyone to have the same desk so it looks nicer, screwing my team and I over), the chairs are uncomfortable, the room is much noisier than the old one and a few other issues… All of which I have just got on with but the fan thing has really f
ked me off. I’ve just got back from a 3 week holiday, so I am a little cranky, have jet lag and holiday blues so I won’t make any silly decisions just yet, but the last few months I have been on the borderline of leaving (for a number of issues) and the business has been fighting to keep me, so it just seems so stupid to me that I can’t have a f
king fan on my desk because it doesn’t look nice. I work in an office which has a 'clear desk policy' and also hot desking, and as per a couple of the other posters have already said, I really like it. It keeps the whole place looking OCD tidy and stops any clutter. It also encourages us to be paperless and so on.
The problem for you is that many offices are heading this way, especially since hybrid working. Less desks in offices, more hotdesking etc.
If this really is a big issue for you, then the only thing I can think of is to go to your doctor, find out what the medical problem actually is, and get it in writing, then use this to politely ask your employers for special dispensation for the fan.
Doesn't sound like it's something worth causing too big a fuss over though.
The problem for you is that many offices are heading this way, especially since hybrid working. Less desks in offices, more hotdesking etc.
If this really is a big issue for you, then the only thing I can think of is to go to your doctor, find out what the medical problem actually is, and get it in writing, then use this to politely ask your employers for special dispensation for the fan.
Doesn't sound like it's something worth causing too big a fuss over though.
Ussrcossack said:
Just ask for a referral to occupational health.
Their report should recommend some form of reasonable adjustment
This is the sensible option, especially if you say the chairs you have now are uncomfortable.Their report should recommend some form of reasonable adjustment
Also, the correct response to "untidy desk, untidy mind" is "empty desk..."
People don't ''run hot'', it is homeostasis function to keep core temperature at a very specific temp, else you die. Drinking more water , cutting out things that give the perception of heat.
Why I mentioned it, because I think it might be psychosomatic, and therapy might help.
Also you leave this job you have not solved the issue.
Why I mentioned it, because I think it might be psychosomatic, and therapy might help.
Also you leave this job you have not solved the issue.
Edited by Cockaigne on Monday 22 May 18:42
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