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Sweltering at work costs billions, study says

sun exposure and heat stress are key issues for surface mine workers

MINE workers know all too well the suffering of working long days in the sweltering heat.

A study has revealed that as the earth’s temperature continually rises and workers sweat it out at work, productivity is also affected due to heat stress.

According to the study, published in Nature Change, heat stress cost the country about $US6.2 billion ($A7.92billion) and also warns of more losses in worker productivity as the earth warms.

The findings show that three-quarters of the respondents who answered a productivity questionnaire claimed that they were affected by the heat at their workplace over a 12-month period.

Seventy-five per cent of these workers said that the temperature affected their productivity on at least a day in the previous 12 months with seven per cent claiming they had not reported to work for at least a day.

The data presented by a team of international researchers clearly shows that an estimated yearly cost of absenteeism and impaired performance because of heat stress cost about $US655 per worker.

The findings also said that the impacts from this heat stress include incidents due to concentration lapses and lower productivity due to fatigue.

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