What’s the Worst Job to Have In Extreme Heat?

In 95-degree heat and intense humidity, beads of sweat drip all over the face, work clothes begin to take on the feeling of a straight jacket, and thick air makes it difficult to breathe. Icy, air-conditioned relief hits as soon as the office door is opened after the potentially long walk from the car. For some people though, walking from a car to a chilled office building is a luxury instead of a reality, especially in the heat experienced in the summer.

Weather.com released a list of the nine worst jobs to have in extreme heat. Included on the list were construction workers as number one, followed by landscapers, farmers, roofers, mail and package delivery services among others. For some of those workers though, dealing with the excessive heat and humidity is just another part of the job.

Brian Comiskey, the owner of B&E Roofing in Dover, said at this point in the year, the heat doesn’t even bother him anymore.

“The first day in May is the worst instead of the hottest day in July. By the time we reach July, we get used to it,” Comiskey said. Comiskey said the heat on the roof of a house is much hotter than it is on the ground.

“If it’s 99 on the ground, it’s about 130 on the roof,” he said, explaining that the material used on a roof is an asphalt product.

“Asphalt soaks in heat. An attic retains the heat from the house. There’s no hiding from the sun while you’re roofing,” Comiskey said.

Gary Goldman, the president of G&M Pavement Maintenance, said his company uses a few different methods to beat the heat.

“When you’re using asphalt, the temperature can be 150 or more. We start earlier in the day and try to get as much done as we can. The guys make sure they’re hydrating, putting wet cloths on their heads,” he said. Goldman said on one particular job last Friday, the workers had to call it quits as a result of the heat.

“After a day outside, you’re so physically and mentally drained, it’s hard to explain how you feel when you sit down in air conditioning,” he said. Goldman said his workers refrain from eating because of the heat, but he makes sure they have enough to heat, are properly hydrated and have take enough breaks during the day.

“You have to know the point when you have to call it quits,” Goldman said. “When the public is suffering, they realize how difficult our work really is.”

Goldman said for the most part, his workers are pretty well adapted. Because it has been so hot, he said, there’s been a back log of jobs to be done. “You have to take some time off in the heat, but we’re trying to play catch up. You try to get as much done as you can.”

Comiskey said the heat was so oppressive one time while roofing, the hair on his leg burned off because he was working on the roof of a Victorian house in Brookline one year. Another year, an 18-year-old working for his company was feeling nauseous from the heat and needed to take the rest of the day off.

Despite the heat though, Comiskey said he likes extreme temperatures. “I like it really hot and really cold,” he said. “We do our job, the heat is the heat. Some people say it must be terrible. I feel as though it would be terrible sitting in front of the computer.”