ARE YOU FEELING TRAPPED DURING THE #HEATWAVE?

With the temperature nearing 30C this week, if you’re feeling ‘trapped’ in the office, you’re not alone.

More than half of UK workers admit to feeling glum being stuck indoors during the heatwave with a third feeling trapped inside. One in four would rather be out making the most of the weather rather than stuck inside in front of a computer. Some 20 per cent admitted to being distracted at work by thoughts of their friends and family lucky enough to be out and about in the sunshine.

To combat this, working Brits wish they could take 12 extra ‘Sun Days’ a year to soak up some extra Vitamin D.

The stats have emerged in a study by air conditioning specialist Andrews Sykes, which has brought the sun indoors at one lucky office, by creating the ‘Office Beach’. Complete with sand, cocktails and games, the Office Beach brings a taste of the summer to an otherwise-drab office environment.

A spokesperson for Andrews Sykes said: “Workers this week have definitely been feeling the heat cooped up in their office blocks. It can be demoralising to see the sun peeking through the window from behind your computer monitor.

“Hopefully our Office Beach has brought a bit of sunshine into the lives of all the workers stuck indoors during the latest heatwave. And who knows, maybe it will catch on in offices around the country looking to bring a taste of summer into the workplace?”

The study of 2,000 office workers found 31 per cent have been guilty of coming up with an excuse to get out of the building and catch some extra rays on a workday. A third of those have pulled a sickie, and one in ten have said a relative was unwell and they couldn’t make it in.

While 28 per cent spend their ‘Sun Day’ in the garden, one in seven hit the beach to catch some rays. But for those left behind in the office, tensions soon rise with two in five office workers admitting they have fallen out with a colleague over the air conditioning in the office.

Of those, 41 per cent were griping because they felt conditions were too cold, while 36 per cent were left sweating it out, waiting for some relief from the heat.

And 42 per cent work with a colleague who is always cold, even when the office is stifling for everyone else.

Researchers also found the temperature of the average office is usually a warm 21 degrees, but workers would prefer the cooler climes of an office conditioned to 18 degrees. And two thirds wish their employer would do something to permanently improve the temperature in the office.