  Extreme heat negatively impacts cognition, learning, and task performance.
With increasing global temperatures, workers may therefore be at increased risk
of work-related injuries and illness. This study estimates the effects of
temperature on worker health using records spanning 1985-2020 from an
Australian mandatory insurance scheme. High temperatures are found to cause
significantly more claims, particularly among manual workers in outdoor-based
industries. These adverse effects have not diminished across time, with the
largest effect observed for the 2015-2020 period, indicating increasing
vulnerability to heat. Within occupations, the workers most adversely affected
by heat are female, older-aged and higher-earning. Finally, results from
firm-level panel analyses show that the percentage increase in claims on hot
days is largest at "safer" firms.
