Heatwaves are having a significant impact upon Australian workplaces, with research calculating that lost productivity and absenteeism is costing the economy at least US$6.2bn ($7.92bn) a year.



A study of 1,726 working adults across Australia found 70% had worked less efficiently at some point over the past year owing to heat. A further 7% had missed at least one day of work because of high temperatures.

Researchers estimated the average loss due to reduced productivity is US$932 a person a year, costing the Australian economy US$6.2bn.

The studies, conducted in May and October last year, covered the previous 12 months. Australia had its hottest year on record in 2013, with last year calculated to be the third warmest year on record.

The paper, published in Nature Climate Change, said while 2013 was an exceptionally hot year, workplaces would need to start adapting to extreme heat “if severe economic impacts from labour productivity loss are to be avoided if heatwaves become as frequent as predicted”.

The research, led by Charles Darwin University, noted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s findings that it is 90% certain the number of warm days and nights has increased globally, and 99% certain that the frequency of warm days and nights will increase in the decades ahead.

In Australia, heatwaves are already the most deadly natural hazard, responsible for 55% of all deaths caused due to natural disasters, even though heat-related deaths are often under-reported.

The research found that, on average, workers spent 10 days a year under severe heat stress, with those involved in physically demanding jobs the worst affected.

Dr Kerstin Zander, an agricultural scientist who led the research, said the US$6.2bn loss was probably an underestimate.

“We didn’t measure for the loss in productivity of those who don’t get paid, such as carers and volunteers, or for people over 65 years old,” she said. “So our estimate is at the lower end, it could be US$10bn or so. Either way, it’s a large figure that will keep going up as it gets warmer in the years ahead.

“People doing physical work need more breaks when it is hot while people in offices with air conditioning can have problems with fatigue and poor concentration levels.

“Another big issue is sleep. If you don’t sleep as much on the weekend due to it being so hot, you feel that on a Monday or Tuesday.”

Zander said extreme heat was a safety issue and made people less productive. The research paper suggested that employers implement strategies, such as improved access to water and fitness programs, if the predicted increase in heatwaves took hold.

“Employers in Australia already do quite a lot, although maybe there could be more enforcement for employees who refuse to take breaks,” she said.

“In Europe and other cooler places in the world, there is far less adaption to heatwaves. They have no real idea about heatwaves, unlike in Australia.

“As Europe isn’t really adapted, economic losses may be higher there. At the moment, the heat isn’t normally a cause for a day off in Europe.”

Previous studies have warned of the health impact of rising temperatures, although milder winters will be kinder to at-risk people. A 2014 study, by Public Health England, confirmed that the increase in rates of summer deaths would be more than cancelled out by the drop in winter deaths.