Productivity can be raised by improving thermal comfort

Worker productivity can be enhanced by up to 12 per cent by increasing the level of thermal comfort at the workplace, a study by Prof Dheeraj Sharma and Prof Rajesh Chandwani of IIM Ahmedabad on "Heat stress and its effect on psychological aspects of workers in India" suggests, indicating a direct correlation of thermal comfort at the workplace and its effect on productivity of workers.

It also says that regulatory bodies should encourage environment-friendly and feasible measures for cooling solutions. The research highlights the urgent need for policymakers and organisations to extend the scope of climate change and ambient temperature discourse to include workers' concerns. Concerns about heat stress have become especially relevant with deteriorating climatic conditions.

Tropical countries like India are likely to suffer the most from health hazards and productivity losses due to rising temperatures. Studies have shown that heat stress can cause physical health hazards and also impact on the psychological health of workers negatively.