Does hot weather decrease productivity?
July 2, 2006 by Adam
Filed under Personal Development
As I’m sitting here in my study writing this article, I’m actually sweating. OK, this is summer you might say, but then I might say that this is England, the land where Summer never comes, and when it does it lasts for a few days before it rains.
The temperature is about 33 degrees Celsius, which for all you non-metric folk out there is around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Here in the UK, Im not really used to this weather, but I know most of you guys must be experiencing this quite frequently. As a result, the humidity makes me feel trapped, and I actually think that its having an effect upon how Im thinking today.
I am unable to think of any new entrepreneurial ideas, instead I just feel like sleeping. I’ve also lost my appetite as all I’m doing is drinking bucket loads of water. For businesses here, this must be affecting revenue, especially if the employees don’t have access to air-conditioning. And I hear that this hot weather is going to be continuing throughout the rest of the coming week!
So is hot weather actually linked to a decrease in productivity? Well I did a search in Google and managed to find out that heat can cause heat stress. Effects of this may include,”…heat-related illnesses, disabilities, mental acuity (you can’t think properly), decrease in physical work capacity and even death due to dehydration.” The key I’m regularly told by parents and teachers is to drink lots of fluid to keep your brain active. And as most of use entrepreneurs know, our brain is essential when it comes to thinking up new business ideas and strategies to build up our business empires!
Got a chuckle from your heat story. Many years ago I had the enjoyable privilege of living in the UK for a couple years (Banbury, Oxon). I came there in March almost direct from a couple years in Thailand, and my work was outside … I have never (including trips to Alaska and winter work in Montana)_ever_ felt so cold as I did the first couple weeks that March .. indoors or out.
The summer, though, made up for it .. it was warm and I was reveling in it and well remember the headline in a major London paper one day “Heat Wave Continues … 84 Again Tomorrow!” My English co-workers and pub mates couldn’t understand my amusement.
Haha, yeah the weather only starts to get good here in the summer from June till September. After that, its cold, rainy and very depressing!
I’d say it’s good for ice cream vans, and beaches. Went to a beach today, charging £3 per car onto the beach, which was packed. The whole road was a queue of family cars desperate to pay their £3 and get onto the sandy beach. They must have taken in over £2000 just today.
blah, Florida is humid and SUPER HOT! haha
That is true actually. With all this hot weather I never thought that I could actually turn it into a business venture :). You’ve got me thinking now…maybe the little portable fans?
And Dennis, Florida must be unbearable. Even now, I feel like moving to a cooler country even though I’ve been waiting for the summer for yonks. How do you put up with it?!