Research that matters to protecting the health and safety of workers

The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is a Canadian leader in work injury and disability prevention research. An independent, not-for-profit organization, IWH conducts and shares actionable research to promote, protect and improve the health and safety of working people.

Latest news & findings

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Nine trends in the future of work that may impact vulnerable workers

In the next two decades, the world of work will look very different than it does today. Major forces are driving change: digital technologies, artificial intelligence, climate change, demographic shifts, and more. What does the future hold for people who already face barriers in the labour market? In a new project report, an IWH team led by Scientist Dr. Arif Jetha lays out nine trends and what they may mean. A summary of the report is also available in At Work. 

Read the full report

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Disability and Work in Canada conference videos are now available

The devastating impact of COVID-19 on employment for people with disabilities was a major theme at the annual Disability and Work in Canada conference, held late last year. But participants also heard about ongoing initiatives on strengthening income support, promoting workplace inclusion, measuring progress—and many others that make up a pan-Canadian strategy to improve paid employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. Conference videos are now available at the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy conference page. 

Read about conference highlights

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Upcoming IWH Speaker Series presentation: Exploring differences between stress and musculoskeletal claims

Workers’ compensation boards in several provinces across Canada now recognize work-related chronic stress claims. In the state of Victoria, Australia, where such claims have been accepted for many years, differences are found between mental health and musculoskeletal claims in return-to-work outcomes and processes. In an IWH Speaker Series presentation on April 6, IWH Senior Scientist and Scientific Co-Director Dr. Peter Smith delves into the differences between these two types of claims and explores the lessons they may hold for Canada.

Find out more and register

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IWH announces this year’s Syme recipients

Congratulations to the four recipients of a 2021 S. Leonard Syme Fellowship in Work and Health. They are: Kathleen Dobson, University of Toronto; David Kinitz, University of Toronto; Jennifer Ritonja, Queen’s University; and Siobhan Saravanamuttu, York University. The Syme fellowships were established by IWH in 2002 to support early-career researchers who intend to study work and health.

Learn about this year's Syme researchers

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Age, tenure raise risk of job precarity among workers with disabilities

Which groups of workers are at greater risk of working in precarious jobs? According to a new IWH study, among people with disabilities, older workers and workers with less tenure worker are those with higher risks.  

Read about the study

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IN THE CURRENT ISSUE...

Unionized firms have lower lost-time injury rates than non-union firms, a second study in Ontario's industrial, commercial and institutional construction sector confirms.

How people's reasons for disclosing or not disclosing their episodic condition at work matter to the work support they receive.

What sets apart people who use cannabis at work from those who use but never on the job? The answers all relate to the types of jobs they do and the work environments they’re in.

 

Read the issue

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.

View tools and guides

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.

Get the summaries

Events

Learn directly from the researchers themselves about their latest findings in health, safety and disability prevention. We host regular presentations (in person or live stream) through our IWH Speaker Series and our annual Nachemson lecture.

See upcoming events