To be worried about work with the temperature tomorrow

[Freakedoutandannoyed]

I work in the NHS, based in a large open plan office. It’s pretty warm in there generally even when it’s cool outside. I’m really concerned about how hot it is going to be tomorrow and if I have any leg to stand on re working from home?

I do honestly think some people are just really not able to cope with being too hot the same way some people can’t cope with the cold and people that don’t feel like that don’t understand.

I’m in the same position as OP and nope! No AC, no heating controls, the office is inside a network of corridors and external doors are through about 7 fire doors. Sky light windows which open about 6 inches

all we have re USB plug fans which watched hot air around

"it will be fine!"

Not for everyone.

In 2023 there were an estimated 2985 excess deaths as a result of very hot weather.

There's a reason for excess morbidity and mortality when it's very hot. Anyone on a high dose of antidepressants or antipsychotics, people with high blood pressure, people with diabetes, anyone with kidney disease, people over 65 - they're all at higher risk.

My 21 year old son is on chemo and a lot of psyche meds. He blacked out a couple of weeks ago on a day it was really hot. Ended up with a cut that needing gluing and a very swollen eye. Had no memory of what happened.

I hadn't considered it might be my medication rather than the medical 'event' making my reaction to the heat different this sumner! Sounds obvious now you mention it!!

That's because in 2023 it was 40 degrees its only 30 tomorrow

Where I worked the engineers used to PAT test things customers brought in. Cost £5 per item. Well worth it.

Plenty of water, cool loose clothing. Everyone will be hot that’s just how it is for the next few days.
I'm moving from a hospital job to an office tmrw - it'll be better in the office as I don't have to run around. Just keep hydrated

How could you do in person appointments for the NHS if you work from home? That makes no sense

People need to understand that people have varying degrees of ability to cope with heat.

This might be temporary (eg due to medications or stage of life) or it might be more permanent ( a chronic or genetic condition)

I felt ashamed and embarrassed my whole adult life how hard I found it to cope in heat. Then at 42 I was diagnosed with a condition (Myasthenia) that explained exactly why - heat makes it harder for my nerves to communicate with my muscles, making every bit of me increasingly weak. On a really hot day I can barely talk or walk.

I reckon I could have gone my whole life without a diagnosis if it hasn't been for an observant optician, so there will be lots more people out there with conditions they don't even know they have, that means they find it harder to cope with heat

Just an example of medications that impact on the ability to cope with heat.

And a fair percentage of the population will be on antidepressants for starters.

Forgiveness is easier to get than permission!!

take some frozen water bottles ti stand in front of the fan!!

My classroom was a metal box. 30 hot bodies in a tiny room with windows that only opened a crack, constantly moaning about the heat and doing very little.
I now work in an office where I can go to the loo and splash myself with water/get a drink whenever i want. It’s heavenly!

No, they're unbearably HOT year round!!

especially on orthopedic wards as they're full of elderly patients who 'feel the cold!

I understand the need to keep them warm & comfortable but it's torture when you are running hot yourself!

It doesn't help this late in the day but these are an absolute god send, no plugging in required and can hang round your neck.

I'm planning to go to the office tomorrow.Because my house is dreadful in the heat and the office is always cooler. I don't think you could reasonably argue.Your own home was any cooler unless you've got air conditioning.

Are you at a particular risk? Due to the heat

Bloody could reasonably argue it if you worked in my office!

And yet people seem to manage in other countries - or did I miss the fact that nowhere is ever as hot as the UK?

DD worked in anaesthetics during Covid, PPE'd up the eyeballs in that hot summer.

It was hellish but she survived. I am sure you will too. I am working this week out in the direct sunshine for a lot of it. I am 52 and knackered. No chance of working from home. Sometimes you just have to get on with it.

There's a reason for excess morbidity and mortality when it's very hot. Anyone on a high dose of antidepressants or antipsychotics, people with high blood pressure, people with diabetes, anyone with kidney disease, people over 65 - they're all at higher risk.

Once again, people with those issues also live in other countries and seem to cope.

Maybe she should also have taught you to understand that not everyone is the same. Not everyone has the capacity to just be resilient?

passing out from the heat is due to my medical event or the medication for it.
It Has the sum of fuck all to do with being resilient.

Ignoring the minefield that is giving an opinion about the heat, surely the answer to your question will depend on the nature of your job/what your contract says? If you WFH sometimes and don’t have any patient-facing appointments tomorrow, I’d say you’re probably likely to be granted it. If you (and others in your role) never WFH and you have a full diary of patients to see, probably not?

You have my sympathy OP, I hate the heat, anything over 25 is too much for me.

It's times like this I'm glad I moved to the Hebrides where it's predicted to reach the dizzy heights of 15° tomorrow.

Makes you wonder how brikkies, builders carpenters, scaffolders, roofers cope In summer, out in the afternoon sun in layers of protective gear, humping and shifting with little to no shade.

I mean come on

People die in all countries when there's a heatwave...the old, the young, the medically vulnerable, the homeless. Its not unique to the UK.

The UK doesn't have the infrastructure to cope with the heatwaves we get these days either. No air con, buildings built for a cold to temperate, wet climate...Not much shade outdoors. The heat tends to be more humid here than some hotter countries too. Finally, the people are less used to heat than hotter countries and heatwaves give us less time to acclimatise.

Just read the thread!