Abstract
Farm workers are exposed to high risk of heat-related illness, especially when their jobs require working outside at a fast pace during hot days. Climate change has increased the number of days with high temperatures, and thereby the amount of time that farm workers are likely exposed to extreme heat. To better understand how high heat exposure affects farm workers, this study investigates how crop workers respond to heat exposure and estimates the effects of different pay and work arrangements on workers’ responses to heat exposure. We explore, specifically, whether piece-rate arrangements increase workers’ effort during periods with high heat exposure compared to workers paid by hourly wages. We use observational data from detailed measurements of localized heat exposure and individual workers’ effort in the field. First, these results show workers adjust their effort in response to heat exposure when the heat exposure level changes. Second, piece-rate arrangements increase workers’ effort during work shifts. Third, piece-rate arrangements allow workers to modify their effort more easily during different heat exposure levels. When facing low levels of heat exposure, workers who were paid by piece-rate arrangements exert a higher effort than workers paid by hourly wages, up until WBGT is 26.6˚C. When facing high levels of heat exposure (with WBGT exceeding 29.6˚C), workers paid by piece-rate arrangements lower their effort compared to workers paid by hourly wage arrangements.
Highlights
Climate change will cause an increasingly unsafe working environment for farm workers given the current work arrangements
The calculation of Recommended Exposure Limits (RELs) as a function of hourly effort estimate is REL 1⁄4 56:7 À 11:5 log ðmetsÞ: The recommended exposure limits are for healthy workers who are physically fit for the activity required by their jobs
Our results suggest that projected increases in heat exposure due to climate change will likely decreases farm worker effort
Summary
Climate change will cause an increasingly unsafe working environment for farm workers given the current work arrangements. Tigchelaar, Battisti and Spector [2] find that climate change will likely worsen the farm worker’s working conditions by increasing the number of days with extreme heat. Recent literature finds occupational heat exposure cause an immediate heat strain symptoms and heat-related illness which ranges from heat rash to more severe heat stroke [4,5,6,7] These studies find that the impact of heat exposure on workers’ health differs across work intensity. By arranging to work early in the day and avoiding working outside during the peak heat period, farm managers and workers can help reduce heat exposure and lower their risk of heat-related illness. While there are regulations that help manage workers heat stress and heat related illness, studies find that risk factors, such as gender, environmental heat exposure, and Body Mass Index (BMI), contribute to the risk of heat related illness [8]
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