Do you shut down your office when it gets too hot?

Should offices shut down when it is too hot? If your staff are going to work less effectively and have a miserable time getting to and from work and being at work in a city not designed for high temperatures, consider this.

overheated trains in nearly 40c temperatures in London are no fun

Today in London the freakish short heatwave will result in temperatures over 35c, and tomorrow (Thursday 25th) it is forecast to reach nearly 40c. That is 104f in “old money” for my American friends!

That is hot, but in addition over 90% of people who work in London get there by public transport, and for literally millions of them that means going into the London Underground, where temperatures are even higher still!

Oh, and very few London offices have air conditioning, so when they do get to work their is no respite.

So, knowing that temperatures will return to a more palatable 30c or less by Friday, how many employers chose to close their offices today and also tomorrow and either a) tell people to work from home, or b) simply give people two days off.