Heat Stress is a serious risk for Australian workers. 

Summer is on its way in Australia. Temperatures are increasing. Heat stress is identified as a major risk factor. This risk factor must be managed. Dehydration can adversely affect workers’ productivity and safety. Mild dehydration in the workplace is linked to reduced cognitive function and increased risk to workmates. We are not functioning at the top of our game with poor concentration, reduced short-term memory and slowed psychomotor skills all a result of dehydration. Hydrating properly leads to better cognition, mental performance and combats tiredness and fatigue. Hydrating helps organisational productivity. 

Reference points of dehydration: 

• 1% dehydration – will lead to reduced physical work capacity and cognitive abilities. 
• 2% dehydration – starting to get thirsty. Heart rate increases and overall performance reduces. Thirst is not a good indicator of hydration levels. 
• 3% dehydration – impacts your cognitive ability. It is like trying to function with a blood alcohol level of 0.08. 
• 4% dehydration – further slows coordination and reaction times. 

Think of a 100kg individual where 1% represents 1 kilogram weight loss or 1 litre of fluid.  

The body must sweat to help manage its internal temperature. So fluid is shifted at a regular rate depending on the environment. It is a minimum requirement to replace this fluid. However, sweating is not cooling. Evaporation of the sweat from the skin does the cooling.  

Sweat rates for workers:  

Working (10-hour shifts) in a temperature range of 15-20C, sweat rates can be around 4.0 litres per shift. This can increase to nearly 5.0 litres when working at 30-35C. A temperature of 35C is deemed to be within thermal work safety limits. 

Acclimatisation to the heat takes time. Once acclimatised there is an increased ability of the body to manage the heat. This due to some wonderful physiological changes in the body. One of these changes is the body’s increased ability to retain water more efficiently by retaining more salts.  

Mitigating dehydration risk is like any other safety hazard. 

Productivity and work function suffer when we fail to adequately hydrate. Optimum’s data indicates that around 25% of employees report having discoloured urine during the working day. We also have evidence to suggest that the bigger the waist measurement of the individual the more likely this person will work with discoloured urine. 

Employees with underlying health conditions or illness are also more susceptible to heat stress and complications from dehydration. Facilitating healthy hydrating habits and stressing the importance of hydration in the workplace is crucial to maintaining a healthy and safe workplace environment.  

Organisational leaders need to educate employees and line managers about the best ways to hydrate, particularly targeting groups working in hot environments and those that carry greater risk, to themselves, their workmates. 

If you wish to understand more about managing this risk factor, then contact us.