Company shuts off the AC at 3 pm to save money, forcing employees to buy desk fans, until they discover management floor is exempt: ‘Their floor was freezing’

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jul 15, 2026 11:15 AM EDT

Should AC be a legal must in an office?

It's July, summer is at its peak, and heatwaves are almost a regular occurrence across the world. Unless you live in Australia, where people are currently enjoying a chilly winter, or other places where summer is basically a myth, you must be sitting under the AC and finding ways to fight the heat. 

Welcome to planet Earth.

As Europe has learned in recent weeks, surviving summer without air-conditioning infrastructure is basically impossible. Some days during this dreadful season cannot be lived through without some way to keep cool, and an AC is the best possible solution.

The fact that the company below decided to start saving money by shutting off the AC every day at 3 pm should definitely be illegal. What are employees supposed to do until they finish their workday at 6 pm? Sit at their desks and suffer in silence? How can a company be allowed to put its employees through this in the middle of summer?

If that's not enough, recently employees learned that on management floors, the AC is still up and running way past 3 pm. Apparently, management doesn't need to suffer like lesser workers. Their floor is freezing while employees below are forced to buy themselves fans to put on their desks.

If my company decided to do something like that, I would have helped them save even more money by quitting my job and never looking back. I am not going to sit in a boiling office while my boss is comfortably sitting upstairs, probably laughing at my expense. No AC = No work. It might be time for the employees to actually implement this rule at their office. I bet management is going to cave real fast if everyone simply stops working, or even floods the management floor and starts working from there…

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  • 01
    Employee working in a hot office without AC.
    via VORONA

    Employee working in a hot office without AC.

    Subject is a model.

  • 02

    My company shuts off the AC at 3pm to save money, but only on our floor

    We got an email saying the company is introducing energy saving hours for the summer. At 3pm the AC basically
    via Bright-Gate3512
  • 03
    stops running on our floor, even though most of us are there until 6. It gets hot enough that people have started
    via Bright-Gate3512
  • 04
    bringing desk fans from home. I went upstairs to drop something off for management and their
    via Bright-Gate3512
  • 05
    floor was freezing. Apparently the energy saving hours dont apply to executive offices or the conference rooms
    via Bright-Gate3512
  • 06
    because clients might visit. Now I'm expected to buy a fan just to sit at the
    via Bright-Gate3512
  • 07
    desk they require me to work from. They also sent us a survey asking how the company could
    via Bright-Gate3512
  • 08
    improve employee comfort. You genuinely cannot make this stuff up.
    via Bright-Gate3512
  • 09
    Employee using a desk fan in a hot office.
    via mediaphotos

    Employee using a desk fan in a hot office.

    Subject is a model.

  • 10
    PJASchultz Everyone needs to take all their work to the management floor, and just start lining the hallways with people sitting on the floor working on laptops. If anyone asks, "oh our AC is broken downstairs, so we gotta work up here."
    via PJASchultz
  • 11
    Nenoshka Can you post anonymously on the company's social media that this is happening? Your management needs to be shamed.
    via Nenoshka
  • 12
    GearsFC3S I'd say at 3pm, you all move up to the conference rooms and have a nice meeting discussing how much energy they're saving... all while you're on the clock.
    via GearsFC3S
  • 13
    flyingtiger188 Suggestion box item: Work from home saves even more energy.
    via flyingtiger188
  • 14
    madkins007 This almost sounds like a trap. Make conditions uncomfortable but within the law.
    via madkins007
  • 15
    Send out an 'anonymous' survey asking about morale. Compile a list of grumblers and complainers, and those that do not reply. Fire them a month later on trumped up charges.
    via madkins007
  • 16
    Shizngigglz Ac off at 3, I'm off at 3. Sorry not sorry
    via Shizngigglz

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boss workplace-stories employee Heat manager job summer tales-from-the-workplace ac workplace company
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