It all began with a tale as old as time: the fight over the thermostat.
Working on the 20-something floor of a high-rise in Midtown, my desk faces the window. The sun pours in and the sweat pours out. My colleagues, however, either do not face the sun-soaked window or are located closer to an air conditioning vent.
In all honesty, I run hot. Like, really hot. I always have. I cannot place all the blame on my desk’s proximity to the sun and my coworker’s potential proneness to anemia.
The thermostat wars got so intense that — while, of course, no words were spoken — every time someone left the office, the airflow stopped, slowed, or steamed up. I couldn’t trust anyone. I, in a panicked and claustrophobic induced rage, went home early. At least I could work in 68-degree temperature from home, right?
Not to mention the super health benefits of working in a cooler climate: research shows that it boosts your brain — therefore work productivity — and helps your immune system out, too. Working in warm temperatures, however, makes us lazy and sleepy. It is scientifically proven: being hot negatively impacts our cognitive abilities. According to Scientific American, “Even simple cognitive tasks can be adversely affected by excessive ambient warmth,” and “A third study suggests that warm surroundings may not just cause people to fail at complex decision-making—it may cause them to shy away from making these sorts of decisions in the first place.”
So, I did the only thing I could think of: get my coworkers their own “Comfy” (you know, the one from Shark Tank with brothers Brian and Michael Speciale singing on national television?) so I can bask in my 68-degree office.
THE ARRIVAL
When the Comfys arrived, I was a bit jealous. Plush and in three colors — pink, grey and navy — they looked, well, comfortable. As the original blanket/sweatshirt, I was immediately rethinking my plan and imagining how cozy I would be at my apartment during the winter months with a Comfy.
I refocused, knowing that to survive my daily 9 to 5 without having a panic attack, I must give away the Comfys. After everyone went home, I placed one on each of my colleague’s chairs with a cute note (something along the lines of, “I know I freeze you out; hope this warms you up”) to ease any imminent thermostat wars for the coming day.
THE TRIAL
My coworkers arrived in the morning confused at first and then delighted by the surprise. I hadn’t cranked the AC just yet to make sure that they would take off the Comfy when they got too warm.
Once that happened, I knew it was time to put my idea to the test.
I turned the AC onto my preferred temperature — just below 70 degrees — and waited. Slowly, each colleague put their Comfy back on and actually focused on their work a bit harder.
Granted, we were giggling at first at how silly we looked as an office decked out in blanket hoodies, but quickly got back to work with less distractions and interruptions than the previous day.
While staying warm despite the colder temperature, our overall productivity increased, and my panic slowly melted away.
I felt even better, though I wasn’t wearing a Comfy, knowing that throughout 2020, The Comfy is donating $50,000 to Susan G. Komen regardless of sales. That’s pretty amazing.
THE CONCLUSION
My hypothesis seemed to have worked. Made from luxurious fleece microfiber on the outside and fluffy sherpa on the inside, the 100% polyester pullovers were a hit.
The huge hood was perfect for the spooky season and the large pocket made it easy to check our phones (purely for business reasons, of course). My coworkers continued to wear their Comfys throughout the week and I remained relatively cool — both mentally and physically.
If you, too, suffer from chronic sweatiness and a short fuse, I recommend getting your spouses, roommates or coworkers the Comfy to avoid the never-ending battle of temperature (and temper) control.
Note: The Comfy’s were provided free of charge to Fashion Mannuscript under no obligation to write a positive review.
