According to NIWA’s latest climate outlook, New Zealand is on track for another scorching summer. But while good news for holidaymakers, the heat and dry weather can pose productivity issues for businesses.
Ironically, balmy days can lead to chilly temperatures in the office.
In many workplaces around New Zealand, office temperature is well-chewed-upon bone of contention. In fact, in the ’90s the Department of Labour had so many complaints from office workers on this subject, it released an employers’ guide to ‘thermal comfort’ in the workplace.
Thermal comfort is defined as state where person is not conscious of either being too hot or too cold. When thermally comfortable, people are able to work more effectively and are less likely to make mistakes.
A HAPPY MEDIUM
When the heat comes on, our first instinct might be to crank the air conditioning up notch or two. But while being too hot can make us feel lethargic, it doesn’t necessarily follow that cooler temperatures make for better output.
A 2004 Cornell University study on the effect of environmental factors on productivity found that when office temperatures increased from 20°C to 25°C, typing errors fell by 44 percent and typing output jumped by 150 percent.
The study argued that not only would business owners boost productivity by allowing for higher temperature, they would also save on energy costs.
Because each person’s response to temperature is so individual, it’s nigh-on impossible to find temperature that suits everyone. However, if you do notice some grumblings around the office, quick poll can help to find happy medium that most find comfortable.
Reaching optimal thermal comfort is dependent on balancing act of six main factors – air temperature, relative humidity, air flow, sources of radiant heat, physical activity and clothing – so altering just one of these might be enough to improve general comfort levels.
SOAK IT UP
Even mild dehydration can cause fatigue, irritability and loss of concentration, so it’s important people are encouraged to keep well hydrated all year round, and even more so in summer.
According to the Ministry of Health, men require around three litres and women 2.2 litres of water day. While around third of this comes from food sources, general advice is to drink the fluid equivalent of six to eight glasses day – preferably water or other low-calorie choices.
TAKING IT EASY
It’s also worth thinking about how you can mitigate another liquid-based issue. Summer tends to create more opportunities for social drinking in New Zealand – and hangovers can have serious impact on productivity and workplace safety. number of employers are already taking steps to address this issue.
A survey conducted by Southern Cross of 400 employers in January 2011 found that one in five employers offered their employees information and support on responsible alcohol use.
However, alcohol use can be difficult area for some employers to broach. You may feel it’s personal choice, or feel uncomfortable with any perception of taking the moral high ground.
One approach could be to include education on responsible drinking as part of any workplace health initiative you undertake – for example, as part of nutrition seminar or through an annual health check. Setting tone of moderation at workplace functions is another very important way you can quietly support responsible approach to alcohol.
Happy holidays everyone. Let’s hope the weather predictions ring true – and you’re not reading this from the confines of slightly leaky tent. M
Peter Tynan is chief executive of Southern Cross Health Society.
