There is significant public concern about heat stress affecting worker safety and productivity. Many commenters share personal accounts of extreme conditions and express frustration over insufficient employer measures and regulatory gaps. Calls for reform in workplace safety practices, especially for outdoor workers, are prevalent.

Employers

Regulatory bodies (e.g., OSHA)

Workers

Safety professional here. While OSHA doesn't have an official heat stress standard yet, they are very vocally working on one, and in fact have a very active current campaign to inform employees and employers alike about heat injuries. The thing is, there doesn't have to be a specific standard in place for OSHA to fine a workplace for endangering employees, if it's a recognized hazard--and heat stress 100% is. The OSHA standard has what is known as the General Duty Clause:
29 U.S.C. § 654, 5(a)1: Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees."

That "recognized hazards" bit is crucial. Heat related injuries fall under this, because they are absolutely recognized hazards, and you can very quickly have brain damage, coma, or death from heat injuries. (A lawyer could point to the fans and other hazard controls as clear signs your employer does recognize the hazards). Also, if you are fired for raising safety concerns, that is illegal retaliation.  At-will or not, there are definitely things you legally cannot be fired for. (That doesn't make it impossible for them to make up another reason, but definitely harder.)

If they want you to fry in the sun, you don't want to work there. The fact that they do provide fans, icy cloths, etc, tells me they want to keep you safe (even if it's for selfish reasons, like fainting and dying employees not being good for business). If you have ideas about how to improve safety, like maybe rotating tasks with employees inside air conditioning throughout the day, i recommend suggesting them under the guise of wanting to improve productivity and customer interactions  (if you're outside in a customer-facing capacity) along with safety. Do it in an email or other documented form so there's a record you can point to if they are evil about it.

As to the burning hot metal, talk to your boss (or better yet, email or text, so you have a record) about covering it so it's not in the sun, or giving you heat insulated gloves if it cannot be covered.  You're vague about what it is, so I can't give you more solid ideas. Forcing people to burn their hands is not only callous, it's not conducive to productivity or to good stewardship of company resources. If that object can be hurt by being dropped, they're asking for it to be broken, since humans instinctively drop hot objects. You can use that as a reason for finding a way to keep it cooler or your hands insulated.

Please take care of yourself. OSHA has some information here: https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure

There's also an OSHA/NIOSH heat app that is a great tool for figuring out how dangerous the heat is that day (it's not just temperature--humidity and other factors contribute to how hot your body gets, and hot well you can cool off). It's linked in the OSHA page above.

engimatica

Georgia is a right to work state. That means if you stir up shit and your employer doesn’t like it, they can fire you and you don’t have any course of retribution. OSHA doesn’t have any regulations regarding outside heat. They have a recommendation, but it is only a suggestion. 
Basically, if you don’t like it, find something else.

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Anecdotally, but I live in a VERY hot country. I find that if I spend even a few minutes outside when it's 45-50'C and in direct sunlight, I get exhausted almost instantly and need to rest.

Sciencetist

DauOfFlyingTiger

Finally something that might make industry worry about climate change.

walkwalkjogjog

So at about 140°C productivity drops to zero.

ghazwozza

em_baconmann

Factories in cold places make you want to stay indoors.  Factories in warmer places will have you itching to leave.

oojacoboo

Not sure how large air conditioning works. But ACs are basically dehumidifiers.

But The hotter it is… the more you gotta run that sucker… so you end up with really dry air… kinda sucks for breathing…your eyes strain faster and lips/skin suffer.

Hopefully most places have a humidifier combo with the AC.

Guesstimationish

Did you factor humidity for evaporation rates?

[deleted]

I can agree with this working in the auto industry. Very hard to keep production up when the factory is so hot that it makes it hard to breathe.

Slylok

I’ve linked to the press release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article: 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10640-023-00803-4

mvea

But that "Nobel" prize winner said climate change has low impact on productivity since most of the work is done inside!

grynhild

Excited for more in this thrilling brand of research that will be used to worsen conditions for workers

tehjburz

So… uh… China… great job and everything finding this out and everything… but… you’re literally shipping hundreds of thousands of TONS of coal to power your cities… so… like… you know… do something else? Since you found this out…?

Drunk-Sail0r82

Usual  caveat - China is not necessarily representative of the rest of the world.

AllanfromWales1

Just whip the wageslaves, they'll soon forget how tired they are.

primalshrew

Could that be because of people take time off work to spend time with their families? Like going to the lake, camping, swimming, etc?

anonimitydept

This might be caused by the presence of Legionaire's disease (bacteria See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionnaires%27\_disease) that are known to grow in air conditioning systems. When the heat goes up, the statistical presence of Legioinaires disease  will also go up and reduce productivity.

Zentropov

It's interesting they found this coleration linear ID think it'd be exponential

Valphai

Corporate slaves wishing to feel some warmth in their capitalist dystopia

Critical-End-Me

Anecdotally, it's never hot where I live, but warm weather decreases my productivity to zero, because when it's remotely warm I go to the beach to make the most of it.

BuscadorDaVerdade

I wonder how much of the cognitive deficit can be attributed to poor sleep?  My sleep definitely suffers when my room is too hot at night.

cadamr

As noted elsewhere the sample size is small, and this is testing a group of people who are accustomed to having A/C experiencing a heat wave, but it raises an interesting question for me: how much did the advent of A/C contribute to global productivity increases, not just due to increased physical labor output being possible in high heat but because people could just simply think better?

banksy_h8r

I work outside in the summer, and I absolutely experience (hopefully temporary) decreased cognitive function. In the hottest part of the day, especially when I can't take breaks or pace myself it gets hard to concentrate or get words out properly. The more I take breaks, the more I hydrate or get AC the better I do. It sucks to be robbed of your creativity and advanced social skills just because the heat index says 110 (F). 

paddingtonrex

Is it not a long term established  belief that stress decreases cognitive function through the Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis?

Physical or Mental stress causes the Hypothalamus to trigger release of Corticotropin-releasing hormone(CRH). 

CRH triggers the anterior pituitary gland to release AdrenoCorticoTropic Hormone(ACTH).

ACTH triggers the release of Glucocorticoids from the adrenal glands. 

Glucocorticoids start working on the hippocampus(memory), amygdala(emotional control), and frontal lobe(cognitive processing) to shut down short term memory(blackouts, trouble remembering), anger/sadness control(lashing out), and the ability to process/concentrate on multiple tasks (from 7 or so down to as few as 1). 

Heat, cold, verbal abuse, violent situations... all lead to decreased mental capacity. 

This is interesting. However, according to the article, only 40 students were studied in one city.

Edit: I've gotten a few comments that seem like people think I disagree with the findings. I don't. I'm not an expert, but yes, heat affecting things like cognition and mood makes sense to me. 

I just wanted to point out the sample size so people would take this one study with a grain of salt because so many people see things like this in the news and think it's confirmed fact. 

Someone pointed out this was one of many studies conducted by Harvard on the effects of heat on cognition and that's cool. The article didn't mention those, nor have I read them. I was only referring to this one article about this one study. 

CloverMayfield

And they still make us take exams in rooms with no A/C.

I was put on some blood pressure meds a few years ago. I can no longer tolerate heat and basically sweat instantly if it's above 70.

I hate it.

wigitalk

Does this mean the people who try to keep the thermostat at 69F have finally won their argument?

RimbaudJunior

I wonder if the opposite is true? At the height of the swine flu/bird flu epidemic in Japan we would have the windows wide open in the middle of winter with no heaters.  Even when it was snowing, and wind gusting into the windows! The students were not allowed to wear coats, so they shoved heating packets into their uniforms. I wore as many layers as humanly possible and still froze my tush.

jldovey

Barbiedawl83

Link to the actual paper. It's open access: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002605

AskMeIfImAReptiloid

I've always said this was the case. Brains are like computers and need to be cool. 

Could this be why almost all the failed states and violent countries of the world are in the world's hottest regions?

dr_zoidberg590

I don’t know if this has to do with this study as well, but I am much more stressful when working while sweating 

Sugar0_0x

Interesting. When I was in high school I had a math class right after the lunch hour. In Montana the temps can get down -20F during the day so the heater was always on. My teacher hated it. Simply because we were full, then very warm so we became sleepy. She would open all the windows in her classroom in the middle of winter just to keep us awake enough for some geometry to stick. 

alexsaurrr

I would think this is fairly obvious, but having studies to back it up is always good. 

reinfleche

I'd like to know how much of this is sleep related. I think it's been well established how important sleep is and its effects on cognition. 

They should setup a test where the subjects only have access to AC during the night while they're sleeping.

someguy3

This is why they would crankkk the AC for end of grade testing in High School. 

DiAlgo692

Do the Right Thing talks deals with this idea somewhat. 

thesuper88

"I was pouring sweat. My blood is too thick for Nevada. I've never been able to properly explain myself in this climate." Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This is my go-to quote when I say dumb things in the summer heat.

bmatthews111

For the past two weeks we've had a heat wave on the east coast of Canada, when I was home for the first week in my air condioned bedroom I felt normal as always, but after spending a week at my gfs house with no a.c. I feel so drained and disoriented and kind of in a haze, I guess it really does affect you

mayonaiiseonmypants

this explains the whole state of Arizonas politics 

Rizzoriginal

Why do you think Middle East have tons of wars?

nirataro

The temperature requirements are set out in health and safety regulations in Ontario, Canada. Not sure where you are located:


https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/faqs/workplace.php#temperature

oldsaltydogggg

I believe there's an OSHA recommendation discussing temperature in the workplace. I think the general thought is "keep things comfortable for staff". 

SHRM should have an article on it - I meant to link it but you need to be a member to access it.

Also you might want to look into and state and/or local requirements - CalChamber is a great resource.

Edit: was able to copy the article so here you go, title, citations and everything 

Are we required to keep the workplace, a certain temperature?

Not necessarily. There is no requirement for employers to maintain a certain workplace temperature under federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, nor are there specific OSHA standards for occupational heat exposure. However, under the General Duty Clause, section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers are required to provide their employees with a place of employment that "is free from recognizable hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees."

Employers can reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses to employees exposed to hot indoor environments such as factories, boiler rooms, commercial kitchens, laundries, food canneries, chemical plants, etc., by implementing engineering controls that make the work environment cooler, such as air conditioning and ventilation, and work practices such as instituting work/rest cycles, drinking water often and providing an opportunity for workers to build up a level of tolerance to working in the heat. See Occupational Heat Exposure.
Employees who work in traditional office environments have a lower risk of indoor heat exposure, and although there is no standard related to indoor office temperature, the OSHA technical manual recommends employers maintain workplace temperatures in the range of 68-76 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity control in the range of 20 to 60 percent. According to an OSHA interpretation letter, "office temperature and humidity conditions are generally a matter of human comfort rather than hazards that could cause death or serious physical harm. OSHA cannot cite the General Duty Clause for personal discomfort."
Indoor air temperature preferences vary by individual. While one worker may shiver and reach for a sweater during the summer with the thermostat set on 70 degrees, another worker may break a sweat. Finding a happy medium can often be difficult, but consider the bottom line: "Temperature is certainly a key variable that can impact performance," according to a Cornell University study.1 Aside from productivity, office temperature can also have a negative effect on morale, and allowing employees some flexibility in regulating indoor temperature can increase job satisfaction.

1 Lang, S. (2004, Oct. 19). Study links warm offices to fewer typing errors and higher productivity. Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved from http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2004/10/warm-offices-linked-fewer-typing-errors-higher-productivity

rosary4271

I’d take a look at ny laws specifically... in Minnesota temperature requirements are specific for winter weather. I have had to send people home when our heat was broken in the winter and temps were below the states requirements. I have also had osha to a worksite for complaints of heat stress. 

According to OSHA’s website....OSHA recommends temperature control in the range of 68-76° F and humidity control in the range of 20%-60%.

realdealteale

If you are leasing your space contact the property manager and check your lease.  If you own the property start logging the temperatures in the offices and get an HVAC contractor to check your system

amoly101

So, what’s the workplace like? Also, are these claims substantial or preference?

Get a humidity checker or a temp gauge.

72 is great for AC in the warmer days, and around 80ish is good for colder. If it’s too cold, recommend bringing their own space heaters. If it’s too humid, recommend personal fans. 

Can they complain, yes. Are you legally liable? Depends! Is it a deplorable work environment? Got people not fitted for a freezer? Got a three piece suit in summer heat waves? Maybe you’re in the east coast and it’s super humid. Maybe ask them if they know this is typical? If you dunno, it’s best to consult an attorney, but they might just tell you to fix your HVAC which would be better than hiring them to fight against any legal risks.

eitherorsayyes

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You end up with a lot of space heaters running under desks.

koebelin

This study feels weird to claim overcooling when that initial graph seems to clearly indicate winter as the main problem time. It shows nearly identical complaint split between hot and cold in both genders in the summer when you consider the study has slightly more women than men, but has a dramatic shift in the winter where women are more consistently unhappy with specifically cold. Doesn't that imply under-heating is the issue?

Jacob199651

I managed the HVAC at our office for several years as part of my "other duties as assigned," and I found that there were two or three main factors:

1) HVAC systems in offices are often set to have the fans on all of the time so if heat isn't pumping at that time, the movement of the air from the fans will make you feel colder than you would otherwise. Also, those systems tend to take in fresh air from outside, where it is colder. The thermostats were also usually in small spaces like an office where the door gets closed making other areas cooler since the smaller space reaches the set temperature more easily.

2) Men were more likely to be wearing pants, shoes, socks, and a long sleeve shirt or sweater, and women are more likely to be wearing open toe shoes, skirts, and blouses. I'm not intending to blame women for how they dressed...it was more of a result of the dress code policy/societal expectation.

3) In our offices at that time, men were also more likely to be in offices (where doors could be closed to hold in heat) and women were more likely be out in open spaces like cubicles.

shed1

Testosterone helps regulate body temperature. It’s one of the reasons sleeping bags are slightly different for men and women.

there was a whole article about how "air conditioning is sexist" back in like 2015?

the gist was that gendered professional wear, ie suits and vests for men, along with men generally controlling the office lead to the AC being set lower for the comfort of men,

meanwhile the office i worked at before covid was always warm since most of the employees were women.

Gothsalts

This is like my #2 or #3 reason why I want to work from home forever.

Itabliss

Also about 80% of people who are affected by Raynaud's Syndrome are female.

So, I've had to do a ton of research into this area after running 3 facilities and having more temperature complaints than any other tickets. Probably most other complaints combined.

1. HR doesn't frown upon wearing more clothes than not enough. We had several females that were too cold and after experimenting with the temperature it was either the females were too cold or the males were walking around pitting out with sweat on their brows. There was that much of a difference. So yes, running dedicated circuits just for personal space heaters seems like a waste, but it's way cheaper than hiring new people.
2. We also adjusted seating arrangements to accommodate different temperatures. We put a majority of the females closer to windows with direct sunlight. This had the biggest impact to office comfort... albeit only in the summer. During the winter it was the exact opposite and window desks were often colder. It's fairly unreasonable to shuffle the office twice a year just because of temperature.
3. Humidity played a factor in how cold people felt. For example, as humidity rose, so did the amount of people complaining it was too cold. Quite proportionate as well. This I found fascinating and have yet to discover what drove that feeling or if more moisture in the air does actually cool the body more rapidly through phase change or something else.

inphamus

offices keep it cold on purpose to prevent ppl from falling asleep… i remember a collection agency i used to work at would always keep it at 65… all the girls brought blankets to work and all the dudes wore hoodies even in the summer and this is in florida

jellyvish

People don't realize how complex being "hot" or "cold" is.

Air temperature?
Air humidity?
Air velocity?
How close a person is to an exterior wall?
What's the temperature of the exterior wall?
How close is a window?
What's the angle of light coming through that window and what kind of glass is it?
What activity is a person doing?
How fit is that person?
What kind of clothing are they wearing?

Each interacts with the others to total up to be "hot" and "cold" and each person has specific ranges where things will line up differently for others making each "hot" and "cold" different between people and different for that same person at different times of the day.

belhambone

Let men wear shorts and maybe this will change.

Pastvariant

The women in my office usually bring in a sweater. Some have a small heater under the desk but that frown on.

stewartm0205

My feet are always freezing while my core and face are stupid hot.

I have a heater under my desk and a small fan on top.

MissedPlacedSpoon

I worked in a warehouse in AZ. There was no A/C, but some swamp coolers. They didn't do much in 113+ degree heat. The office was nice an cool and had 5 women working the phones. They all used the space heaters. As a bonus, the overpaid executive stepped out of that freezer/office for about a minute, approached me soaking wet like I just jumped in a pool, and said "the heat doesn't seem so bad."

YesilFasulye

**Abstract**

Growth in energy use for indoor cooling tripled between 1990 and 2016 to outpace any other end use in buildings. Part of this energy demand is wasted on excessive cooling of offices, a practice known as overcooling. Overcooling has been attributed to poorly designed or managed air-conditioning systems with thermostats that are often set below recommended comfort temperatures. Prior research has reported lower thermal comfort for women in office buildings, but there is insufficient evidence to explain the reasons for this disparity. We use two large and independent datasets from US buildings to show that office temperatures are less comfortable for women largely due to overcooling. Survey responses show that uncomfortable temperatures are more likely to be cold than hot regardless of season. Crowdsourced data suggests that overcooling is a common problem in warm weather in offices across the US. The associated impacts of this pervasive overcooling on well-being and performance are borne predominantly by women. The problem is likely to increase in the future due to growing demand for cooling in increasingly extreme climates. There is a need to rethink the approach to air-conditioning office buildings in light of this gender inequity caused by overcooling.

thebelsnickle1991

Am I the only one not at all impressed with this? They claim to have shown the problem is overcooling but all they actually did was confirm that people were more likely to be cold than hot in their dataset and that those people were mostly women. They didn’t study the actual office temperature or the impact of making changes to it, although that didn’t stop them from making broad conclusions about those points. They also acknowledged the obvious problems with their analysis of tweets, which is that it is totally confounded by differences in twitter usage by gender/sex. Bottom line: their conclusions far surpass the evidence.

Gonjigz

Yet another reason we should all be working from home.

beyondclarity3

I'm okay with increasing the temperature of the office as long as the dress code allows me to wear shorts and sandals seeing as women are allowed to wear shorts (skirts) and "dress sandals".

dos8s

My office is so cold it’s ridiculous. It’s so cold it gives me a headache. The guy two desks down from me wears his padded jacket all day. I have fingerless gloves I wear because I have to type fast and if my hands freeze up I get slow. People drink hot water when they run out of hot coffee or tea packets. Our plants die.

idonutknow_

Glad I hit menopause while working from home.

elizabeth498

Women are also more likely to suffer from thyroid problems which affects the body’s basal metabolism and one’s sense of body temperature.

Dizzy_Slip

A WHO report emphasizes the impact of increasing heat stress on global worker productivity, urging immediate action.

Heat Stress and Worker Productivity

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