Workplace sickness will surely increase wont it

[Friedbacon35]

With ever increasing termps aibu to think workplace sickness might spike in summer in future

I feel like I can barely do my job during the hottest part of the day felt like going to pass out

There needs to be legal maximum temp where you can just leave work

It’s a reasonable question. Who says which workers have to work in heatwaves and which don’t? Why is it ok for you to leave work and not, say, a doctor? If a doctor can work through a heatwave, unpleasant though it is, why can’t you?

I fell asleep during my lunch break yesterday & didn't wake up till 16.30. Luckily, I could just work over to get my work done. I must say, yesterday was a good day & continental hours (even if I worked them unintentionally) upped my productivity & comfort in the heat.

It’s been at least 3 weeks so far this year and summer has only just started. One more week and it would be a month, ie a twelfth of the year. I think it’s worth investing.

Yeah I think this is the issue. I work for a local authority m, they’ve not put in any contingency plans, just and email reminding us to drink more. But still have to go in to the office without aircon, still not allowed to wear shorts even if we wouldn’t be public facing. If they don’t have to mitigate the heat they just won’t

But when it comes to a decent pay rise, the public will turn against you.
Pay your mortgage with the claps and pan banging folks.

If people can work from home in uncomfortable weather conditions they should be able to (I can’t but have fab air con in work so 😉)

I really regret clapping you all.

We were all just trying to show empathy and appreciation.

I wouldn’t do it again.

Will workers be able to afford to take unpaid days off? Employers wouldn’t have to pay zero hour staff or those with contracts saying such closures are unpaid. A lot of employers don’t pay sick pay so will just tag this on.
What we need are better conditions.

But how can a country have a LEGAL maximum working temperature but then say actually that doesn’t apply to loads of jobs? This is the problem. What if an office got air con and the GP surgery next door got air con. Everyone is happy. But both break down on the same day. The office workers say well it’s illegal for me to work so I’m off (on full pay of course) bye!! The staff in the GP practice have to work illegally is what you are saying? It’s not about my opinion and what I feel about my job. (If you must know I’m retraining to get out of any healthcare profession and I won’t miss it in the slightest due to how we’re treated). It’s about legalities and hypocrisy. If it is dangerous to life for the office workers to be at work why is it not dangerous to life for the healthcare staff?

Exactly this.
We have laws about minimum temperatures for offices, despite the fact that there have always been people who work outside in the cold. No reason why there can’t be similar at the other heat extreme.
Of course, to be workable the limit would need to be so high that most people wouldn’t be helped by it, but it would at least concentrate the minds of employers on what measures they can do rather than heat being something they can ignore.

Is it an excuse though?

My child’s school said they would remain open a couple of weeks back.

It got to 34 degrees here. They sent an email at midday saying we are going to close tomorrow and you can come and collect your children now if you like, the buildings are too hot.

when I went to pick up my year one child, her teacher was saying she just couldn’t keep them all safe. They have an area of forest in the grounds and they had just been in there all day, the children were wringing wet with sweat, it wasn’t right to have them in. I was on the fence about sending mine in but figured we live 2 mins away if she was struggling.

So it’s not an excuse from the teachers, some buildings are too hot and they are trying to keep children safe.

How much teaching and learning can go on in high temperatures in schools that aren’t built for the weather. It’s a great waste of everyone’s time.

Well to be fair, sickness rates in the NHS are already three times that of sickness rates elsewhere. So yes, people do walk out, and all the time.

I would be prepared to kill my first born child for AC in my classroom. It’s 34 degrees today and we all want to put out heads down and nap but course content still needs to be taught to Yr 10 and 12. Key stage 3 can make some posters!

dh usually works from home but in hot weather, he’s off to the office for the air con.

No, but there is usually the people who seem to think that they're doing their employers a favour by actually doing their job! Many people won't be able to take advantage of a change in working conditions, I'm sure you'll still expect schools, hospitals, supermarkets etc to be open. Many on MN have a very simplistic view of life.

Isn't the government trying to ban AC..too much electricity...

I’m not really sure what your point is?

Obviously not all workplaces can have a control on temperature (builder working outside, worker visiting people’s home, etc) but that doesn’t mean that we can’t ask employers to ensure the temperature is adequate when it is realistically possible, ie when air con / fans / etc can be installed in a building.

Or is it like WFH with people jealous that they can’t do it due to nature of their job and resenting office workers that can do it?

Trouble is that's expensive to install and expensive to run, many businesses just couldn't afford it. Pay cut anyone? Or pay more for everything?

Well its not just one is it? Farmers, firefighters, police, health care workers, transport workers, the people who keep the electric on and water flowing - they dont just get to stop and go home do they?

Hopefully any such legislation will also require the correct use of any AC, eg doors, windows closed, unlike the shops which boast We have AC, with their doors wide open.

Stupid comment. The NHS is the UK's biggest employer, so it's really not about one!

No. However there are quite a few fixes that cost less than aircon that can help cool buildings that it'd be good to consider before reaching for air-conditioning.

It's a perfectly legitimate question (and I work in an air conditioned office)

Correct.
Maybe now those who loved to mock summer productivity and other customs like close between the peak hot hours in those warmer countries may now understand why they do it like that.

I appreciated the support in my village but I think the problem that many of us had wasn’t individuals showing support, it was how the government reacted to it. We got more support from the community than the government.