According to office workers in Britain, working in temperatures under 18C is unacceptable, however a huge 75 per cent of trade workers across different industries work in conditions less than this, according to research from help-link.co.uk.
Gone are the days at school where we were sent home when the temperature drops. Just 14 per cent of employees in the UK get the day off when it’s cold but who has it the worst when it comes to working over winter?
Despite working in a relatively snug 18C environment, office workers seem to find 41.5 hours a year to moan about how cold they are at work. More than a quarter (28 per cent) of office workers say their workplace environment is too cold and 30 per cent hate their work environment.
Related: Employees blow hot and cold on office temperature
However, fishermen, construction workers, railway workers, farmers and postmen are just some of the professions suffering this winter, with trade workers having to work outside or even at sea in cold temperatures as low 6C on average in the UK.
Out at sea trade workers by far have it the worst! They spend the most amount of time per year moaning about the temperatures they have to work in (68 hours a year), 77 per cent don’t get paid sick days, 0 per cent get to leave work early on snow days and its quite obvious that they cannot work from home.
However, those that work in an office strangely seem to be affected by cold temperatures and winter weather a lot more than expected.
Productivity in the workplace affected in winter
Two thirds (67 per cent) of employees that work within an office are late to work due to the bad weather at winter. The rates of office employees being late for work during the winter is higher than those that work in transport and double the amount of those that work out at sea.
However, when it comes to productivity, those that work in hospitality or outdoors seem to be affected the most. A huge 75 per cent of outdoor workers including construction, farmers and postmen said they are less productive during winter.
Nearly two thirds (60 per cent) of employees in Britain say temperature affects their productivity and 75 per cent say their boss is not supportive when working in cold conditions.
You can’t build a house from home or catch fish from the sofa
Flexible working at winter is a huge benefit for those that normally work in an office. Two fifths (38 per cent) of office workers get the benefit of working from home from the weather is bad and 42 per cent get to leave early if bad weather is forcasted.
However, 80 per cent of outdoor workers including builders and farmers have to go to work despite how bad the weather is and 42 per cent don’t get paid sick days.
Who hates their job and working environment the most?
Those that work in hospitality hate their job the most! A third (34 per cent) of employees in the industry said they do not like their job, 41 per cent hate their work environment and 29 per cent don’t like their managers. Three quarters (76 per cent) of store workers like their job, but 30 per cent don’t like the environment.
Office workers seem to have a negative opinion on both their job, workplace environment and managers however overall they come out as having it the easiest at winter!
Further reading on happiness at work
