Home working in heat more dangerous and inefficient

WORKING from home during heatwaves could be more dangerous and reduce productivity compared with going to the office, the Government’s climate change advisors have warned.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) cautioned that working from home could exacerbate the risk by exposing people to high temperatures for longer, despite Kit Malthouse, a minister, previously cautioning workers against travelling into the office because of levels of disruption on trainlines and roads.

“This may be a moment to work from home,” he had said.

The CCC warned heat-related deaths could triple in coming decades as extreme temperatures like this week become more frequent by 2050.

About a fifth of homes in the UK are already overheating during summers, with the problem particularly bad in new builds with high levels of insulation but poor ventilation.

The CCC warned overheating can affect worker productivity because of discomfort and heat stress, defined as “when the body’s means of controlling its internal temperature starts to fail”. As temperatures hit a record 40C, unions called for a legal maximum workplace temperature of 25C to protect employees.

About a quarter of workers have a hybrid work pattern, from home and the office, and roughly 14 per cent work entirely from home, according to official data. The majority of people who started working from home before the pandemic have said they want to continue

‘Overheating can affect worker productivity because of discomfort and heat stress’

in the long term, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The CCC said working from home during a heatwave could take away from productivity as people have to take time to “manage the indoor environment”. It pointed out that offices are more likely to have air conditioning.

The problem could particularly affect workers in cities, with overheating in London homes significantly higher than anywhere else in the UK.