Overview

The Bangladesh Temperature Lab examines the impact of heat on worker productivity, particularly in team-based tasks. While prior research has shown that high temperatures reduce individual work efficiency, little is known about how heat affects team performance, which relies on interpersonal coordination and communication.

To address this, researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where computer programmers worked under controlled temperature conditions. Participants were randomly assigned to work either individually or in teams of two and placed in rooms with temperatures of either 24°C (control condition) or 29°C (heat treatment condition). The study aimed to determine whether heat disrupts teamwork by increasing coordination costs, slowing communication, or reducing the effectiveness of collaboration, particularly in teams with diverse characteristics such as gender and experience levels.

This experiment provides new insights into how climate factors impact cognitively demanding occupations and team-based work environments, helping policymakers and businesses design strategies to maintain productivity in warming climates.

Objective

The Bangladesh Temperature Lab seeks to provide rigorous evidence-based insights into how heat stress influences team-based and individual productivity. The study focuses on the following key objectives:

Measure the effect of heat on team versus individual work

• Determine whether higher temperatures reduce team efficiency more than individual productivity.

Understand the role of coordination costs in high temperatures

• Assess how heat affects communication, cooperation, and task execution in teams.

Analyze differences in team composition

• Investigate whether diverse teams (gender-mixed or experience-mixed) are more vulnerable to heat-related productivity losses.

Provide policy and business recommendations

• Offer insights for workplace climate adaptation, including air conditioning policies, flexible work arrangements, and optimized team structures to maintain productivity in rising global temperatures.

Data Collection and Research Activities

The study was conducted over two months (October – November 2022) in collaboration with the ARCED Foundation in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The research team carefully controlled environmental conditions and monitored participant performance through behavioral measures (coding performance) and self-reported assessments (surveys).

Key Research Activities

Baseline Setup & Randomization:

• Participants were randomly assigned to either individual or team programming.
• Room temperatures were randomly set to 24°C or 29°C.

Coding Task:

• Participants were given four hours to complete a structured coding task in Java.
• Team participants engaged in pair programming, switching roles every 30 minutes.

Performance Measurement:

• Output-based metrics: Number of coding features successfully implemented.
• Effort-based metrics: Total keystrokes, time spent coding, number of breaks taken.
• Survey responses: Self-reported experience, mood, and evaluation of team dynamics.

Follow-up Surveys & Data Collection:

• Researchers collected participant feedback on task difficulty, collaboration experience, and willingness to work in similar conditions in the future.

This structured approach provided both quantitative and qualitative data, allowing for an in-depth analysis of how heat impacts individual and team performance.

Engagement

Teevrat Garg, Maulik Jagnani, and Elizabeth Lyons published Heat and Team Production: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh.