Sunday July 11th, 2010
The beach vs the GDP: Climate and workforce productivity

WORKIDEX (noun; fr. 'humidex'):  How much work you aren't getting done because it's too bloody hot

Now that we're into the second week of this brutal heatwave in Toronto, I often find myself wondering:  How the heck does anyone in Florida, Louisiana or even South Carolina ever get any work done, especially in the summers?  Or maybe it'd be more accurate to ask:  "How the heck does anyone without air conditioning get any work done in these places?"

Turns out someone has done a little research on the connection between temperature and productivity.  A recent study by Alan Hedge, a human ergonomics researcher at Cornell University, says that once the office temperature dips below 23 degrees Celsius, productivity declines. 

Unfortunately, this seems to be another one of those pseudo-scientific 'studies' which end up 'revealing' what we knew already:  When workers are comfortable (not too hot, not too cold), they stay at their desks longer, take fewer breaks and are more focused on their work and are therefore, unsurprisingly, more productive. 

But this doesn't really address my question, which was more about the effects of weather/climate on the productivity of workers overall. 

Do workers in 'extreme' climates work less (and less productively) than workers in more temperate climates?

Now, I'm no statistician, but looking at the productivity indices across 50 countries, here's what I see:  The majority of the top-performing countries are 'cold' ones (Iceland, Poland, Finland, etc.); the majority of the less productive countries are 'warm', I'd-like-to-vacation-there ones (Italy, Portugal, Spain).

['Productivity' here is defined as GDP per hours worked.]

Looks like the hot countries work a little less, too.

Hours worked per person per week (average):

Iceland  35
Poland  38
Finland  33

Italy  35
Portugal  34
Spain  31

AVERAGES:
Hot countries 33.33
Cold countries 35.33

My admittedly unscientific conclusion?

You now have the data you need to ensure you get more vacation time this summer:  "The thing is, Mr Manager, studies have shown that when it's hot like this, my individual contribution to GDP plummets, and that's not good for the business - or the country!  So it's better if I take 2 or 3 weeks off now, and just make up the time in January/February when I can be more productive."

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Canadian economy   GDP   global economy   labour market   news   newsfeed   off on a tangent   productivity  

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Paul Dodd
Co-founder and President
Head2Head Canada

Paul has one simple goal: To help companies hire great people - and get the most out of every recruiting dollar they spend. That's why he's recognized as one of the best recruitment-industry thinkers in Canada.

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