Work in transition: Climate crisis complicates conditions for home office

(© Image: Depositphotos) - Climate change is accompanied by increasing temperatures, which are leading to ever greater challenges in urban areas, both at work and in the home office. A transdisciplinary project involving the MedUni Vienna investigated the effects of climate change on the health and well-being of people in urban areas and established urban planning solutions to facilitate working conditions. Heat waves in the course of climate change have significant negative impacts on human health and well-being, particularly in urban areas where the majority of the world's population lives and works. The new study of "Heat vs. Health: Home Office under a Changing Climate" of the transdisciplinary project NORM (New Options for Resilient Measures for human health and well-being in the construction industry under climate change in Austria) highlights the impact of rising temperatures on working conditions in the home office. "The urban heat island effect, as a typical phenomenon of the urban climate, causes heat stress among the urban population and exacerbates the negative effects of rising temperatures on human health," explains Daniela Haluza from the Department of Environmental Health at the MedUni Vienna's Center for Public Health. Urbanisation and associated man-made factors, such as increasing soil sealing, are significant contributors to this problem.