Too hot to work...?

Phew, what a couple of weeks it’s been; a proper summer at last. The smell of freshly cut grass. The drip, drip of melting ice lollies. A cold drink in a beer garden. Shorts and t-shirt. The warmth of the sun on your back.

Dream on.

The only sights and smells you’ll be getting today are those of sweaty commuter trains or suffocating car exhaust fumes, the heat of the tarmac as you queue in traffic, and an ever growing inbox. But worst of all, you’ll be awaiting the smug return of the colleague who beat you to booking this beautiful week off. The closest you’ll get to the sunshine is looking longingly at it through the window, like a puppy pawing at the back door, desperate for walkies.

But just suppose, for a moment, you weren’t allowed to work. If it was deemed unsafe. Well, hang on a minute. A group of 18 MPs believes we should all be sent home if the temperature hits 30C. Halifax MP Linda Riordan tabled a motion that describes “employees in a wide range of workplaces – from industrial bakeries to school classroom” being subjected to high temperatures that can “impact seriously on their health and wellbeing.” Apparently, the effects of exposure to this sort of heat at work can induce “discomfort, stress, irritability and headaches.” Yes, it’s called being at work.

It’s a lovely idea, and I’m sure we’d all like to down tools and enjoy the sunshine while we can. But it’s never going to happen. And nor should it. Because if we all stopped working for reasons like this – wrong kind of weather - nothing would ever get done. We’d be like the trains, always with some excuse for a no-show.

And if we did pack up and go home, business would actually suffer. Because an expected improvement in wages and the amazing weather has seen the retail sector continue to grow.

So there you go. It pays to stay at work. To borrow a phrase popular with our politicians, ‘we’re all in it together’. You can book a holiday when you get home.