To think there should be a maximum working temperature?

[RaggedBlousedPhilanthropist]

I work in a non-air conditioninged office.

it’s a public facing role so we can’t work from home unless we’re soley doing admin stuff.

it’s just too hot today!

I know if it goes under a certain temperature (16-degrees?) they are meant to send us home, but this is just too much!

🥵

Well no because the world would then stop! Bring a fan in to work?

It just wouldn't work for whole industries... commercial catering, food manufacturing, large parts of other manufacturing, etc. Basically any industry that requires heating in order to produce what they produce.

My 2 eldest work on farms, who do you think would look after the livestock if everyone pissed off home because its too hot?

I think there should be some sort of law, at least for the UK because unlike other countries, most of the UK isn't air conditioned because such high temps are uncommon to rare.

Or at least some law saying that working hours must be altered for cooler times of the day etc. Working at nearly 40c outside in a manual job may make you pass out and will put your health at risk.

As long as you can access a fan, water, regular breaks for a drink if not allowed on the shop floor.

You’re allowed to leave work if you feel you are at risk

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz fans are crap at these temps

What happens when the max temp is reached op?

Every employer has a welfare duty to staff which includes thermal comfort. HSE has lots of guidance, from memory 80% of staff have to be satisfied with working conditions temperature wise.

And what happens if 85% aren't happy?

It is 34 degrees in my office today.

Fans are useless at these temps.

There absolutely should be maximum working temperatures when it is no longer safe to work. Until this happens employers won’t be interested in adapting buildings to be safe.

Look at schools closing early and sending kids home because the old buildings can’t cope. The pictures of the Queens Guard wearing full uniform in this heat outside.

Well, the business could hire in air conditioning, change shift patterns, cover windows, relax dress codes, provide cold drinks. Or close in extreme conditions.

Why are we immediately blaming employees for unsafe working conditions?

Really?
So what about places that can't be adapted? The warehouse type place I work at for example? It's too high/wide/big for air con

And emergency services, hospitals?

And air con adds to climate problems, making the initial problem, heat, worse

It simply isn't true though that A/C is widespread in hot countries, and I don't know why people keep saying it is. Some of the hottest countries on earth are also some of the poorest. Truly widespread A/C in combination with a hot climate probably only really applies to Australia and the US, even across large parts of the Mediterranean countries A/C can be quite limited. Fans are everywhere of course, but not A/C.

It depends on what temperature you're referring to.

30c in a desk job, most people can work through. 40c then probably not

Midwives, doctors, firefighters and many others have to carry on whatever the weather. Yabu.

I think the op is alluding to workers being sent home.....

How routine is it going to be now that children have to be sent home, or schools closed because buildings are unsafe.

Employees aren’t to blame for wanting safe working conditions.

This is so true. And this myth further shows people making these statements to be living in a bubble. First, air con is not as widely available everywhere. And in some of the hottest climates, many cannot afford to run it. And of those who can, they have long power outages lasting sometimes 24 hours a day during the summer.

What's 'unsafe'?

It wouldn’t work in a lot of workplaces. Foundries, laundries and bakeries wouldn’t be able to operate. Many jobs are outdoor work in all weathers.

In the UK, HSE guidance gives a lot of actions that employers can take in periods of extreme heat or cold, including adjusting duties and working hours if that’s possible. But a maximum temp just isn’t viable.

Yes.
It isn't possible to have a single max temperature because some workplaces are very hot and have to be or what's being done couldn't be done.

But. Maximum temperatures in certain workplace environments is certainly possible as is regulations about what you must provide for staff working in unavoidably hot places. Cool water, enough breaks, maybe even a cool break room, regular checks on staff etc.

There are lots of things that can be done. It's not a case of well, you can't keep a steel welder cool so we can't do anything for Margaret who works in a school office.

What about those working outside?