October 2025 | Mara Getz Sheftel, Jennifer Brite, Na Yin & Deborah Balk | Burn Out Reimagined: Extreme Heat, Work Disability, and Sociodemographic Disparities in America
Abstract
The intersection of climate change and population aging presents challenges for an increasingly older U.S. labor force. Exposure to extreme heat at work is associated with mortality and morbidity, but little is known about how exposure to heat at work relates to work disability, especially among vulnerable subgroups. In this preliminary analysis of work disability and occupational heat exposure, we find that men, Black, and Latino workers ages 50 and older are more likely to work in heat-exposed occupations and to report work disability. We offer policy suggestions for mitigating the impact of extreme heat on U.S. workers.