Work & Rest Schedules

Employers should create a work and rest schedule for employees to ensure that workers are not performing high-intensity tasks at the hottest or most humid parts of the day.

The physical benefits of rest schedules include reduced internal heat production, increased blood flow to the skin, and a decreased heart rate. Rest periods are most effective when taken in cool, shaded areas. Rest periods can be designated times that workers can take to complete light work, such as training, completing paperwork, or attending meetings. Rest schedules also ensure that each worker on the shift is provided with an equal opportunity to rest and recover from the heat. New and at-risk workers should be given lighter work and longer resting periods. These employees should be closely monitored.

Work activities and schedules should be organized around the temperature, implementing higher intensity tasks in the cooler parts of the day, with rest periods during the hottest. However, if the temperature is higher than forecasted, the work schedule should be shortened and the rest schedule increased. The following situations indicate when work schedules need to be adjusted for rest schedules:

• Increasing temperatures
• Increasing humidity
• Increasing sun intensity
• Decreased air movement
• Employees wearing PPE
• Heavier workloads

When creating work schedules, consider that frequent, short-term exposures to high temperatures and humidity are preferred to longer periods of exposure. For every hour of work, an employee should be given 15 minutes to rest during hot weather conditions, and 45 minutes to rest during extreme heat and humidity conditions.

To learn more about Heat Stress visit our Heat Stress, Illness & Injury Safety Online Training web page.