How Weather Patterns Impact Workplace Performance

Citation: Housman M. How Weather Patterns Impact Workplace Performance, San Francisco, CA: Evolv, Inc., 2014.

Abstract: Freezing temperatures throughout the Eastern United States during this past Winter of 2013- 2014 thrust the “polar vortex” into the national spotlight. If fact, the weather this year made a significant impact on jobs growth as hiring slowed due to the extreme winter, according to the US Department of Labor. But the effect of weather patterns on the U.S. economy may be even more far-reaching than that if it impacts the performance and productivity of the nation’s workers. This begs the question: what is the effect of inclement weather on workforce performance?

In order to answer this question, we combined workforce performance data with weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in order to produce a sample of nearly 5 million observations from nearly 60,000 employees. We found that weather does impact workplace performance; inclement weather produces worse schedule adherence and absenteeism while customer satisfaction is higher in colder temperatures and sales conversion is higher in warmer temperatures. Employers can utilize this information when making decisions about office locations and remote employees in order to optimize workforce profitability.