Abstract
Objective: We investigated the impact of workplace heat and cold on work time loss. Methods: Field experiments in different industrial sectors were conducted in multiple countries across all seasons between 2016 and 2024. Hundreds of workers were video-recorded and their full shifts (n = 603) were analyzed on a second-by-second basis (n = 16,065,501 sec). Environmental data were recorded using portable weather stations. The Workplace Environmental Labor Loss (WELL) functions were developed to describe work time loss due to workplace temperature. Results: The WELL functions revealed a U-shaped relationship whereby the least work time loss is observed at 18 °C (64 °F), and increases for every degree above or below this optimal temperature. Conclusions: The WELL functions quantify the impact of workplace temperature on work time loss, extending to temperatures previously believed to be unaffected.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine |
| ISSN | 1076-2752 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Accepteret/In press - 2025 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:Acknowledgments: Sources of Support: The authors report no competing interests that are directly or indirectly related to this work submitted for publication. We wish to thank the Qatar Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, as well as the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy for their organizational support throughout the studies conducted in Qatar. This research was funded by the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (project HEAT-SHIELD; Grant agreement No 668786) and the International Labour Organization (Contract Number: 40262271/1). There are no relevant financial or other relationships that might be perceived as leading to a conflict of interest in relation to this work. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Author Contributions: Conceptualization, L.G.I and A.D.F.; methodology, L.G.I., A.D.F., G.P.K., G.H., I.B.M., and L.N.; validation, L.G.I. and A.D.F.; formal analysis, L.G.I. and A.D.F.; investigation, L.G.I., L.T., K.M., G.G., G.A., and A.D.F.; resources, L.G.I. and A.D.F.; data curation, L.G.I.; writing\u2014original draft preparation, L.G.I. and A.D.F.; writing\u2014review and editing, All authors; visualization, L.G.I. and A.D.F.; funding acquisition, A.D.F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Data Availability: The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding authors. EQUATER Network Reporting Guidelines: This study was reported in accordance with the STROBE guidelines for observational studies (STROBE checklist is available as Supplementary Digital Content). AI Statement: No AI was utilized at any stage during research, development, design, data collection, and manuscript preparation. The authors used Grammarly to proofread for grammar and spelling errors.
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