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Soaring August temperatures will lead to fall in office productivity, warn office experts

Thursday 11th August 2005

New research commissioned by Morgan Lovell suggests that UK businesses can expect a non-productive workforce during the predicted heatwave.

New research commissioned by Morgan Lovell suggests that UK businesses can expect a non-productive workforce during the predicted heatwave. 40% of British office staff feel that the temperature control in their office is insufficient, whilst more than one in ten claim that temperature control is not provided for at all

Staff absence from work already costs British business for more than ?11bn each year (CBI findings 2004), but David Henderson, Managing Director of Morgan Lovell, believes that the underperformance of staff when at work may be of even more concern: "The physical working environment needs to be conducive to productivity. There are many factors which significantly affect employee productivity ? the amount of light available, the amount and type of space and colour, for example, but temperature is arguably the single most important."

According to a Morgan Lovell survey of Britain's bosses, improving temperature control ranked as one of employers' lowest priorities when it comes to planning the workplace design, with only 13% of bosses saying they had considered it.  

To assist employees in hot working environments during the remainder of the summer, employers should try to improve the environment by providing at least, for example, fans, mobile air conditioning and cool drinks dispensers. They can also let staff take more breaks for drinks, work from a cooler break-out space if available, and ensure that use of heat-generating IT equipment, such as printers and photocopiers, is kept to a minimum.

Editor's note:

Morgan Lovell is the UK's premier office transformation specialist. Morgan Lovell consults, designs and constructs thousands of square feet of office interiors every year, transforming them into inspiring places to work.  It is a member of construction brands group Morgan Sindall plc, which operates a national network of office design, fit out, construction, affordable housing and infrastructure services divisions.