We work in a city which is known to have a cooler climate than the surrounding area, due to the topography, and it's been a bitter winter so I've been dressing in layers to stave off the cold while I'm out, but we have a big wall-mounted heater unit, so my innermost layer has been pretty much just comfy t-shirts. And recently I got a flesh wound on my shoulder and have been wearing sleeveless blouses to keep from bothering it while it heals.

Now, you might be thinking I'm the one turning the heat up, but no. I'm the one turning it down. I get into the office and it's a vaguely chilly 64-68F. I prefer 72F but I can deal with 60-78. My coworker comes in 30 minutes after me, which gives me enough time to acclimate to the room and be comfy. She takes up to an hour to really settle in, during which time she's in and out, doing whatever work she needs to do away from her desk.

When she finally does settle in, she turns the heater on. I'm fine with it for a little while; like I said, it's vaguely chilly. She turns it on high though so when I'd been overheating for a while I would go over and announce, "I'm just gonna turn this down, it's getting really hot." She doesn't say anything, so I put it to low. It's still a bit hot, but not getting hotter, so I deal with it.

But then about 20 minutes later, she turns it back up again. I can open my window to regulate my space, but it's loud outside the office and part of my job requires taking customer orders over the phone. It's gotten to the point where I just go turn it down when I can without saying anything.

I don't get it. She's from the area, and wearing sweaters. I'm from one of the warmer surrounding areas, and wearing short / no sleeves. But who am I to decide how cold she is? But then, who is she to force the whole office to sit in 74° dry heat just because her clothes aren't warm enough?

Am I the asshole?