Written by Jessica Mee
Extreme heat is becoming an increasingly important issue for the health, wellbeing and productivity of the UK workforce. As heatwaves become more frequent and severe, understanding how people experience and respond to heat at work is becoming essential to developing effective policies and practical solutions.
On 2 September 2026, The Physiological Society launched its new report, Protecting workers’ health and productivity from extreme heat, at the Houses of Parliament. The report brings together expertise from thermal and occupational physiology, climate change, workforce health and safety, public policy and related disciplines to consider how the UK can better protect workers from the impacts of extreme heat.
Dr Jessica Mee, from the University of Worcester, was a member of the report’s Extreme Heat in the Workplace Steering Group, which brought together experts from across the UK and internationally to contribute evidence and expertise to the development of the report.
The launch provided an opportunity to bring together research evidence, policy and practice around an issue that is becoming increasingly relevant to workplaces across the country.
Understanding the human impact of extreme heat
The consequences of extreme heat are not simply about discomfort. Heat exposure can affect sleep, physical and mental wellbeing, concentration, decision-making and the ability to carry out work effectively and safely.
The report highlights the scale of the challenge. During the June 2026 heatwave, an estimated 24 million working hours were lost on days when temperatures exceeded 30°C, with an associated cost to the UK economy of more than £1.15 billion in lost output.
However, economic measures of productivity tell only part of the story.
Understanding how people experience heat is equally important. This includes understanding who is affected, how those impacts vary between individuals and groups, and the workplace and wider structural factors that determine whether people are able to adapt.
Bringing UK heatwave experiences into the conversation
Research undertaken at the University of Worcester provides an important contribution to this discussion.
Our UK heatwave study used a combination of population survey data and qualitative focus groups conducted during multiple heat events to explore how people experienced heatwaves across different working-age and occupational groups.
The research found widespread self-reported impacts of heat on sleep, health and productivity. In our sample, 84% of participants reported impaired sleep and 67% of employed participants reported reduced productivity during heat events.
Importantly, these experiences were not confined to people traditionally considered to be vulnerable to heat.
The research also identified differences in experiences between groups, including sex-related differences in several outcomes. Qualitative findings suggested heightened heat sensitivity among peri- and post-menopausal women, highlighting the importance of considering physiological and life-course factors when thinking about workplace heat risk.
These findings point to a need to move beyond approaches that focus only on temperature thresholds or predefined vulnerable groups. People’s ability to cope with heat is influenced by physiology, working conditions, the physical environment and the resources available to them to adapt.
Why a human-centred approach matters
One of the key messages of the report is the need for a more human-centred approach to heat policy.
Current workplace approaches can treat extreme heat as an occasional or exceptional hazard. Yet, as the climate changes, heat is increasingly becoming a recurring occupational health issue affecting a much broader proportion of the workforce.
The physiological response to heat is not the same for everyone. Workload, clothing, physical activity, environmental conditions and individual characteristics can all influence how heat affects a person.
This means that effective adaptation needs to consider both the conditions people work in and the people themselves.
For employers, this could mean thinking differently about working hours, rest and recovery, access to cooling, work intensity, clothing and personal protective equipment, workplace environments and the availability of appropriate guidance during periods of extreme heat.
For policymakers, it means ensuring that workplace health and safety frameworks reflect the growing reality of climate-related heat exposure.
From evidence to action
The report makes a number of recommendations for the UK Government, including:
- setting targets for extreme heat that take wider physiological risk factors into account;
- providing effective, physiologically informed guidance to help employers protect workers while maintaining productivity;
- updating regulations to ensure that workers’ health and productivity are protected during extreme heat;
- supporting further research into the impacts of heat on health, safety and productivity; and
- improving public health messaging and understanding of physiological resilience to heat.
A key recommendation is also that physiologists and physiological evidence should be included in consultation and decision-making processes around heat policy. This is important if future approaches are to be both evidence-based and genuinely human-centred.
The role of research in shaping adaptation
For the University of Worcester, contributing to this work provides an opportunity to ensure that research on people’s lived experiences of heat forms part of the wider policy conversation.
The challenge of extreme heat is not simply one of rising temperatures. It is about how those temperatures interact with people’s health, physiology, working environments and ability to adapt.
Understanding these interactions will be increasingly important as the UK experiences a warmer climate and more frequent periods of extreme heat.
The launch of the report marks an important step in bringing together physiological evidence and policy. Continued research, alongside engagement with employers, workers and policymakers, will be essential if we are to develop approaches that protect both people and productivity.
Remembering Professor George Havenith
The launch also comes at a particularly poignant time for the field, following the sudden death of Professor George Havenith.
George was a member of the Extreme Heat in the Workplace Steering Group and a leading figure in environmental physiology and ergonomics. At Loughborough University, he founded and led the Environmental Ergonomics Research Centre and made a substantial contribution to research on human thermal physiology, environmental ergonomics and heat exposure.
His research helped advance understanding of how people respond to heat and cold, including the interactions between physiology, clothing and the environment. His work has also contributed to international standards and guidance relating to thermal environments.
Although I did not have the opportunity to know George personally, it feels appropriate to acknowledge his contribution to the field at this moment. His work forms part of the scientific foundation on which much of today’s research into heat, health and human performance is built.
Looking ahead
The risks associated with extreme heat are already being experienced across the UK workforce. The question now is how quickly research, policy and practice can adapt.
A human-centred approach means recognising that heat does not affect everyone in the same way, and that protecting workers requires more than simply issuing general advice. It requires an understanding of physiology, working conditions, individual experiences and the structural barriers that can prevent effective adaptation.
The work of the Extreme Heat in the Workplace Steering Group, alongside research such as the University of Worcester’s UK heatwave study, contributes to this growing evidence base.
As the climate continues to warm, ensuring that workers can remain healthy, safe and productive in extreme heat will be an increasingly important part of adapting to climate change.