World of HR: Office workers in East Asia sweat it out amid heatwave and energy crisis

It’s hot in East Asia right now. The region is experiencing an intense spring heat wave, worsening the region’s already worrisome energy crisis.

Where in the world? Countries in Asia have been trying to conserve energy as the US-Israeli war with Iran enters its third month. Now, as temperatures heat up, employers need even more tactics to keep energy consumption as low as possible.

Thailand has been among the countries hit hardest by the heatwave, which has reached temperatures of 104 degrees fahrenheit in recent weeks as the El Niño weather system has taken hold, leaving office workers sweating, Bloomberg reported.

Several countries, including Australia, Japan, and the Philippines, have already limited the number of days employees can work in the office, who can drive to work, and when they can use the elevator.

Government workers in the Philippines have also been permitted to wear light shirts, instead of the required traditional attire, while employers are dictating the air conditioner temperatures to help conserve energy.

“They are coping well, I think our employees understand that we are in a crisis situation,” Elmore Capule, deputy governor at the central bank in the Philippines, told Bloomberg.

The Tokyo government is encouraging workers to wear shorts and lighter clothing to save electricity through Japan’s Cool Biz energy-saving initiative, according to the Guardian. When the initiative launched in 2005, it focused on encouraging civil servants to ditch ties and jackets; promoting shorts is new.

“I was a bit nervous, but it’s very comfortable, and I feel like it’ll improve my work efficiency,” one government official, who started wearing shorts to work, told Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper in Japan. “As it gets even hotter, I’d like to come in earlier and work from home as well.”

Satellite view. For the most part, it does not appear that employers in the US have made many, if any, changes in the midst of the worsening energy crisis.

Some companies, such as Dell, have reduced business travel to the Middle East, but more as a safety precaution, according to Business Insider.

Justin Chen, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238 recommended in an op-ed that the US government expand telework for federal workers as increased oil prices persist.

“Expanding telework is not a long-term solution to global energy challenges,” Chen wrote. “But it is a simple, immediate step that can reduce unnecessary fuel consumption, ease pressure on working families and ensure that the federal government continues to operate effectively during a period of uncertainty.”