"Climate change is already having a measurable impact on labour forces across the globe, with far reaching implications for economic growth, in addition to worker health, firm profitability, poverty and inequality, food security and more. This study quantifies the impacts of heat stress on the UK labour force, focusing on labour supply, labour productivity, the health of workers, and the extent to which, and how, adaptation and adaptive capacity are reducing the negative impacts of extreme heat.
The authors collected data during the UK summer of 2024, just after a period of anomalous heat, surveying over 2,000 people in the labour force, when their recollection of the heat episode was fresh in their minds. The results clearly show that workers do perceive their health to be harmed by heat stress, and workers and employers rely on a wide range of adaptation measures to protect their health and productivity that are at least partially effective."

Support: Digital