Public health officials in Germany are calling for the country to adopt a siesta timetable so that workers can avoid the hottest hours of the day.

Doctors push for Germany to adapt to siesta timetable

Public health officials in Germany are pushing for the federal republic to adopt the siesta culture prevalent in some southern European cultures in order to cope with the increasing regularity of heatwaves during the summer in northern Europe.

“We should take our cues from the work practices of southern European countries when it’s hot: Getting up early, working productively in the morning and taking a siesta at noon is a concept we should adopt in the summer months,” a representative of the Federal Association of Physicians of German Public Health Departments (BVÖGD), Johannes Nießen, told RND.

Since hot weather makes it more difficult to concentrate, Nießen added that complex tasks at work should be completed in the early hours of the day. “In addition, sufficient fans and lighter clothing are needed, even if the dress code in the office does not allow it,” Nießen explained. “A cold foot bath under the desk would be another way to keep cool when working from home.”

Nießen's comments come at a time when experts in other central and northern European nations have also started to call for adopting the siesta. Just last week, the chief doctor working for the main accident insurance provider in Switzerland said that our southern neighbour should also adopt the idea, arguing it would boost productivity and reduce the number of heat-related accidents at work.

German trade unions have long called for summer siestas

The BVÖGD’s proposal is one that has long been suggested by trade unions in Germany. All the way back in 2011, the DGB confederation of trade unions was encouraging Merkel to grant German workers a lunchtime power nap for better health and to increase productivity.

According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), Germany saw just over four Hitzetage or “heat days”, days over 30 degrees, in 2011. In 2022, the country recorded nine Hitzetage.

“Employers must protect their employees from heat - work in the heat is stressful for employees and, in the worst case, endangers their health,” DGB representative Anja Piel told RND. 

Piel is calling on workers in Germany to conduct regular heat hazard assessments at their workplace during summer months since there is still no standard limit of when it is legally considered too hot to work. Employers in Germany can declare hitzefrei and send everyone home to get some rest, but they are never legally obliged to do so.

Speaking to RND, Piel called the current system a “failure on the part of employers that is completely unacceptable in light of climate change and extremely hot summers,” and added that offices recording indoor temperatures of over 35 degrees should close until cooler temperatures return, unless employers provide showers or other methods for workers to cool down.

Thumb image credit: guss.95 / Shutterstock.com