Effects of heat on workers’ health and productivity in Taiwan

Abstract

BackgroundThe impact of global warming on population health is a growing concern and has been widely discussed. The issue of heat stress disorders and consequent productivity reduction among workers has not yet been widely addressed. Taiwan is an island straddling the Tropic of Cancer in the West Pacific and has both subtropical and tropical climates. As of 2008, the economy of Taiwan accounts for 1.1% of the world gross domestic product at purchasing power parity and is listed as 19th in the world and eighth in Asia, according to International Monetary Fund data.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to identify occupations at risk and the potential health impacts of heat on workers in Taiwan.DesignHistorical data relating to meteorology, population, the labour force and economy were obtained from publicly available databases from the Taiwanese government.ResultsHot seasons with an average maximum temperature above 30°C and relative humidity above 74%, lasting for four to six months from May to October, pose health threats to construction, farming and fishery workers. In particular, populations of ageing farmers and physically overloaded construction workers are the two most vulnerable worker categories in which high temperature impacts on health and productivity.ConclusionsCurrently, regulations and preventive actions for heat relief are difficult to enforce for several reasons, including lack of equipment for measuring environmental conditions, lack of awareness of potential hazards and strict time constraints imposed on workers. There is an urgent need to systematically and comprehensively assess the impact of a warming climate on workers’ health and productivity to provide effective prevention strategies for a better working and living environment in Taiwan.

Work Stress among Professionals in Building Construction Industry in Nigeria

“…Although the result suggests that these are challenges; the majority of the respondents did not see them as threats or impediments to the effective discharge of their normal duties. In all, the result of physical work environment related stress appears to provide support for evidence in the literature (Lin and Chan 2009;Wahab, 2010) suggesting that unfavourable working environment is a key source of stress among workers in the construction industry in general. Figure 3 shows the respondents' perception of stress factors due to their respective professional roles in the building construction process.…”

“…Also Lin and Chan (2009) found that temperatures above 30°C and relative humidity above 74% posed health threats to construction workers in Taiwan. They noted that physically overloaded construction workers were among the most vulnerable to the negative impact of temperature on their health and productivity.…”

Potential escalation of heat-related working costs with climate and socioeconomic changes in China

“…To cope with intensive heat exposure, the volume of work is reduced, whether it occurs through "self-pacing" (7) or an occupational health management intervention (8). The end result is a loss of work productivity, which has already been observed during the hottest seasons in low-income tropical regions (9)(10)(11). There is a strong agreement in the 2014 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (SI Appendix, Table S1 shows a list of abbreviations used in this study) that labor productivity will decrease as a result of increased global temperature (12).…”

The epidemiology of occupational heat exposure in the United States: a review of the literature and assessment of research needs in a changing climate

“…In addition to direct health effects, other occupational research related to the potential effects of climate change examines the effects of increased heat exposure from the perspective of productivity and economics (Kjellstrom et al 2009a; Kjellstrom et al 2009b; Lin and Chan 2009). Increased heat will decrease workers’ abilities to perform and decrease productivity (Weeks et al 1991; Lin and Chan 2009; Chen et al 2003; Ramsey 1995).…”

“…Research on occupational heat exposure is more limited than population level studies and it has been argued that occupational exposure to climate change effects has received very little attention (Kjellstrom et al 2009a; Kjellstrom et al 2009b; Lin and Chan 2009; Hyatt et al 2010; Holmer 2010; Hollowell 2010; Schulte and Chun 2009). Published empirical and epidemiological data on occupational heat stress are sparse and fragmented.…”