Trusted research, with reach and impact

The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is an independent, multidisciplinary, not-for-profit research organization located in Ontario, Canada. IWH conducts and mobilizes research that supports policy-makers, employers and workers in creating healthy, safe and inclusive work environments.

Latest news & findings

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IWH thanks outgoing Board members, welcomes new ones

IWH warmly sends its thanks to three outgoing members of the Board of Directors for their years of service, and welcomes to the Board three new members.

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Workplace supports buffer productivity impacts of rheumatic diseases and depression

Young adults who live with both a rheumatic disease and depression have lower productivity than those who have only one or neither condition. That’s according to a new IWH study. Findings from this small study also suggest that having a supportive working environment can buffer the lost productivity issues.

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Two brochures from Make Your Move at Work program, superimposed on a photo of the Halifax skyline

Moving research into practice in a program about movement

Nova Scotia's Make Your Move at Work program is designed to help employers support their employees to get up from their desks and move more during the work day. As told in a new IWH impact case study, it was informed by two IWH studies: one on Canadian workers' movement patterns and health, and the other on the integration of health promotion and injury prevention activities in the workplace.

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Higher risk of work injuries found among those in precarious jobs: IWH study

Workers in jobs where precarious employment conditions are more common are more likely to experience a work-related injury or illness in Ontario, including COVID-19. That’s according to a pair of studies authored by Institute for Work & Health (IWH) researchers that examined whether employment conditions—for example, temporary contracts, involuntary part-time hours, irregular schedules and low wages—may be linked to the rate of work injuries.

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IWH Speaker Series

Learn directly from IWH researchers themselves about their latest findings in health, safety and disability prevention. The IWH Speaker Series is a livestream webinar series that features new study findings from the Institute for Work & Health. The webinars are usually held once a month, on a Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. EST. Recordings are also available to watch on demand.

View IWH Speaker Series

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Tools and guides

Integrate evidence-based policies and practices into your occupational health and safety, return-to-work and rehabilitation programs. IWH has created a number of tools and guides based on our research findings that can help improve program outcomes.

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Impact case studies

Find out how IWH research is making a difference. Read our impact case studies, in which policy-makers, workplaces and other stakeholders in health, safety and disability prevention tell how IWH research helped improve their policies, programs and practices.

Go to case studies

Research summaries

Whether it’s a policy briefing, a systematic review summary or the highlights of a specific research project, we’ve compiled a number of plain-language summaries to help you understand the research we’re doing, what we have found, and how we found it.

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