Something to improve in the office and the only one with the feeling

Question

As always, I have something to improve in the office and the only one with the feeling. This time is that the AC machine is a bit old and noisy and would like to suggest my boss to change it. In fact, AC is not necessary for me at all but my collegues insist on get the AC always on.

I don't know what to do. Convince my colleagues to join me? Tell my boss? skip?

A good alternative may be to skip saying this to colleagues and wait for one month to move to another (new) office that I've been offered.

Answer 1

This improvement costs a nontrivial amount of money.

Unless the improvement can be shown to save the company more money, it is unlikely to happen.

The fact that you are the only one objecting means the benefit gained is unlikely to be worth the investment. The fact that it is a short-term problem makes that a hugely stronger counter-argument.

Let it go. And next time you are tempted to offer a suggestion, remember that it has to be for the company's benefit, not just for your own, unless it is something that can be done for near zero additional cost.

Answer 2

Ask yourself if the AC is 'worth' changing. Since you are the only one that has a problem with it, and you are moving to a new office in a month, I would not bother.

Answer 3

my collegues insist on get the AC always on

This mean you will be unlikely to convince them to turn it off. Replacing an AC would be a company expense that the company is very unlikely willing to pay for. However, if you do wish for that to happen, you'd need to take it up with your manager/boss. Expect to have your request denied though.

If you still think you can somehow convince your co-workers you'd need to talk to them separately. Asking your boss/manager to turn off the AC to save money or resources is not going to sit well with your co-workers, so don't do that unless you don't mint a hostile environment to work in. Instead, try to find common ground where both you and your co-workers can be happy with. Possibly set the AC lower.

I would say that it would be much more likely that you would need to find other options to cancel out the noise instead. For example earplugs, headphones, etc. And moving to the other location could also work obviously. But these would be your options in case that new location has the same issues.