The other day, while watching Calgary’s weather cycle yet again through summer → blizzard → summerin the span of a week, I found myself reflecting on one of the great constants of office life: no matter the season, the building is always the wrong temperature.
“How is it colder inside than outside?”
“Why is my coworker fine while I am suffering?”
Welcome to what we affectionately call “shoulder season” — that delightful time of year when the weather can’t commit. Spring (and fall) has your building’s HVAC system (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) attempting to keep everyone comfortable (impossible) while doing it’s best “you’re not the boss of me” impression.
Let me explain. Building HVAC systems—especially older ones—are constantly playing catch-up and simply aren’t designed to respond perfectly to rapid, daytoday temperature swings. Your team will chronically complain until outdoor temperatures finally settle down, and everyone forgets this ever happened. Until then, HVAC systems—especially older ones—are waving the white flag of surrender.
Often, the office manger doesn’t know the first thing about HVAC and why everyone is uncomfortable–every year—at shoulder season.
The Two Classic Responses
1. Do nothing and hope it resolves itself. A classic move that rarely works. The office manager sticks their head in the sand or their fingers in their ears with the hope it all goes away muttering“I can’t hear you!”
2. The thermostat is confused. You know the one. The landlord explains that “the system is operating as designed,” seasonal adjustments are underway, and everyone is kindly asked to please be patient.
Translation: The building heard you. The building is tired. The building disagrees. Stop touching the thermostat.
The Honest Truth (That No One Wants to Hear)
Here It Is. There usually isn’t much that can be done.
Most of us work in buildings with older HVAC systems never designed for today’s expectations of precise, individualized temperature control. These systems often operate in large zones and changeover seasonally. Many times, the building has been renovated so often that the thermostat no longer operates the nearby zone. All this means that some areas will inevitably feel tropical or glacial while the system tries to balance competing demands.
So instead of pretending the problem doesn’t exist—or overpromising a fix that isn’t realistic—my recommendation is a more proactive approach.
Acknowledge the Chaos Early
Instead of pretending this is fixable—or forwarding the same landlord response for the fifth time—there’s a better move: get ahead of it and call it what it is.
Send a preemptive email acknowledging that, yes, during temperature swing season the building may feel uncomfortable, inconsistent, or personally targeted — and that this is, unfortunately, normal.
Amazingly, people tend to manage discomfort much better when they’re told the truth. Unfortunately this will not eliminate the grumbling, but it is less likely to be at you.
Send out a list of tips that can help with preparing for the seasonal chaos:
• Dress in layers. Spring fashion in Calgary is a free-for-all anyway. Go with it.
• Use a small desktop fan. Preferably one that plugs into your computer and gives you a sense of control. Please unplug it at the end of the day, we don’t want any fires.
• Relocate if possible. Southfacing desks and areas near large windows are basically solar experiments on sunny days. If you are cold, move here. If you are hot—move away.
• Keep the blinds closed. Yes, the natural light is nice. No, it is not worth slow roasting yourself.
Are any of these solutions perfect? Of course not.
Are they realistic? Certainly.
Sometimes managing expectations isn’t about fixing the temperature—it’s about setting the expectations, acknowledging discomfort, validating the frustration, and reminding everyone that the building is trying… and that we are in this together.
OfficeBoss
OfficeBoss 
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