We often think about keeping our work environments warm in the winter as the way that we can keep our staff comfortable in their working environments. But we often think less about how to keep them comfortable when it is hot, that is until we have a prolonged heatwave.
There are a number of things that you can do to help keep your staff safe and comfortable in the heat.
Blinds – if you have blinds in your building, consider keeping these closed to help prevent the sun from entering the office. When the sun streams into a room for porloner periods of time it can create a ‘greenhouse effect’ that makes it incredibly uncomfortable to work in. Another way you can disrupt the angle of the sun is to use a Brise Soleil, like the ones from Aluminium Systems on the outside of your building.
Air conditioning – this is often a good way to help your staff keep cool, but will depend very much on the size of your office space and whether the building is equipped with air conditioning. It is important that you have any air conditioning units regularly maintained to ensure that they aren’t breeding harmful bacteria in the system.
Working pattern – if your busienss allows you might want to consider allowing your staff members to work different hours during heatwaves as this will mean that they can avoid being in the office during the peak times of the day. With people moving to more flexible ways of work, this might be more acceptable now than it ever has been.