Past events

22 Oct 2020

Webinar

Returning to work for people with disabilities in COVID-19

Institute for Work & Health Scientist Dr. Arif Jetha joins a panel speaking on return-to-work challenges for people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics being discussed include: potential barriers and accommodation for COVID-19 in workplaces, employer bias (e.g. assumption of vulnerability), the rights of people with disabilities, among others. The panel webinar is hosted by the Work Wellness Institute.

20 Oct 2020

Other events

Promoting mental health: Lancaster House and U of T's CIRHR training program

To help workplaces develop proactive approaches to employee mental health, Lancaster House and the University of Toronto's Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources (CIRHR) are offering a professional learning program for labour relations professionals interested in implementing and/or improving a comprehensive workplace psychological health and safety management system in their workplace. The program, held over three days (October 20, 21 and 26), is led by Dr. Emile Tompa, senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health and co-director of the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy. It will provide participants with the latest evidence-based guidance on ensuring workplace psychological health and safety, emphasizing collaborative union-management strategies.

13 Oct 2020

IWH Speaker Series

Safe work integration of newcomers: Employer perspectives

Basak Yanar, Institute for Work & Health

Employers play an important role in the safe and sustained work integration of immigrants and refugees in Canada. Despite this, we know little about employers’ expectations, experiences and challenges in relation to the hiring and retaining of newcomers. In this presentation, Dr. Basak Yanar shares insights gained through a recently completed project on the work integration of newcomers. She discusses the perspectives of employers, as well as the experiences of immigrant-serving organizations that work with employers in promoting safe and sustainable work integration.

5 Oct 2020

Conference

COVID-19 and OSH

On October 5-6, 2020, organizers of the 2021 World Congress on Safety and Health at Work are offering free, virtual, half-day special sessions on COVID-19 and occupational safety and health (OSH).

16 Jun 2020

Conference

PSHSA's Return to the Workplace Virtual Conference

Return to the Workplace Virtual Conference, hosted by Public Services Health & Safety Association, is designed for organizational leaders. It will explore how COVID-19 has created the next normal for businesses, provide guidance on how to navigate return to the workplace during COVID-19, and outline innovations to help organizations keep employees and customers healthy and safe. Institute for Work & Health (IWH) Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Smith is among the presenters; he and John Oudyk of Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) will share new study findings on health-care workers' mental health during the pandemic. 

14 May 2020

Other events

Lancaster House audio conference: Accommodating episodic disabilities—the latest law and research

What are the most common challenges in accommodating workers with episodic disabilities? How should key communication challenges be dealt with? What types of accommodations are generally helpful to workers with episodic disabilities? How should workplace parties deal with performance concerns that arise as a result of an employee's episodic disability? These are just some of the questions examined at a May 14 audio conference hosted by The Lancaster House, featuring Institute for Work & Health Scientific Co-Director and Senior Scientist Dr. Monique Gignac.  

13 May 2020

Systematic Review Workshop

POSTPONED: Spring 2020 Systematic Review Workshop

Due to developments related to COVID-19, this event has been postponed.

This three-day workshop teaches participants how to plan and carry out a basic systematic review, understand the appropriate methods for more complex analysis, interpret the results of a meta-analysis and accurately communicate the results and interpretation of a review.

30 Mar 2020

Other events

POSTPONED: Safe Work Integration of Newcomers Forum: Service Provider and Employer Perspectives

Due to developments related to COVID-19, this event has been postponed.

This forum will feature research presentations and discussions on newcomer employment, health and safety, workers’ compensation and return to work, followed by an audience Q&A and panel discussion about solutions for promoting safe employment for newcomers (including future directions in research, policy and service delivery).

3 Mar 2020

IWH Speaker Series

Have cannabis use and perceptions about workplace use changed since legalization?

Nancy Carnide, Institute for Work & Health

Are workers using and thinking differently about cannabis at work now that the non-medical use of cannabis is legal? A team at the Institute for Work & Health led by Associate Scientist Dr. Nancy Carnide is answering this question through annual surveys of Canadian workers, asking about their use and understanding of, as well as their perceptions about, cannabis at work. In this presentation, Dr. Carnide shares early results from her comparison of workers’ pre- and post-legalization responses to questions about cannabis at work.

18 Feb 2020

IWH Speaker Series

Developing practical recommendations for integrating workplace safety and wellness initiatives

Aviroop Biswas, Institute for Work & Health

Workplace wellness programs that also emphasize occupational health and safety (OHS) activities can have greater benefits to the overall health and safety of workers than those that focus on OHS or individual behaviour change alone. When OHS and wellness efforts are coordinated and not in competition for organizational resources, they also benefit the broader organization. In this presentation, Dr. Avi Biswas draws on a recently concluded study to offer practical guidance to employers on integrating safety and wellness activities. He outlines findings of a review of existing research, cross-referenced with stakeholder insights, and highlights what matters most to workplaces when integrating safety and wellness initiatives.

4 Feb 2020

IWH Speaker Series

Introducing the new CSA standard for work disability management systems

Emile Tompa, Institute for Work & Health

Every year, tens of thousands of Canadians become disabled and are unable to work, thereby becoming excluded from the many health advantages of workforce participation. In response to the growing concerns about managing disability in the workplace, the CSA Group, in conjunction with the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP) and Conestoga College, has developed a new standard called the Work Disability Management Systems Standard (CSA Z1011). In this presentation, CRWDP director and IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Emile Tompa highlights components of the standard, which sets out best practices on injury/illness rehabilitation, return-to-work plans, and accommodation of workers with disabilities.

28 Jan 2020

IWH Speaker Series

Capacity building and evaluation of OHS training in settlement agencies

Basak Yanar, Institute for Work & Health; Eduardo Huesca, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers

Newcomers to Canada are at an increased risk of workplace injury and illness, due in part to a lack of knowledge about their rights and responsibilities in occupational health and safety (OHS). Settlement agencies are well-positioned to promote OHS awareness among newcomers, but some may lack the resources and capacity to do so. In this presentation, Institute for Work & Health (IWH)'s Dr. Basak Yanar joins Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW)'s Eduardo Huesca to talk about the development and delivery of the OHS capacity-building workshops for settlement agencies. They will share results of an evaluation capturing the experiences of service providers and newcomer clients, and discuss opportunities for Ontario’s OHS system partners to further support the settlement sector.

19 Nov 2019

IWH Speaker Series

Supporting hospital staff to manage aggressive patient behaviour: A randomized controlled trial

Dr. Lesley Wiesenfeld, Mount Sinai Hospital, Sinai Health System; Mavis Afriyie-Boateng, Mount Sinai Hospital, Sinai Health System; Carla Loftus, Mount Sinai Hospital, Sinai Health System

As in many other hospitals, staff at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital were experiencing high rates of workplace violence. In response, a multidisciplinary team developed a program to standardize practices for identifying and managing patients with aggressive behaviour. Given the dearth of evaluation studies on this type of workplace intervention, the team also set up a randomized controlled study on the program's effectiveness. They share results in this IWH Speaker Series presentation.

12 Nov 2019

IWH Speaker Series

Estimating the economic burden of work injuries and illnesses in the European Union

Emile Tompa, Institute for Work & Health; Amir Mofidi, Institute for Work & Health

Knowing the economic burden of work-related illnesses and injuries in a country can help policy-makers set priorities. In a recent project involving five European Union countries, Institute for Work & Health Senior Scientist and labour economist Dr. Emile Tompa, along with post-doctoral fellow Amir Mofidi, developed and executed a new framework for such an estimate. In this presentation, Tompa discusses the approach, its potential, as well as results of the five-country study.

5 Nov 2019

IWH Speaker Series

The effectiveness of COR in preventing work injury: lessons from Alberta and B.C.

Christopher McLeod, Institute for Work & Health

Certificate of Recognition (COR) programs are voluntary audits that recognize employers for having strong occupational health and safety (OHS) practices. In this presentation, IWH Scientist Dr. Chris McLeod shares his research in British Columbia and Alberta on the effectiveness of COR programs in preventing work-related injury.

22 Oct 2019

Conference

30th Annual Schedule 2 Employers' Group Conference

On October 22-23 in north Toronto, Ontario's Schedule 2 Employers' Group holds its 30th annual conference on workplace wellness, workplace health and safety, workers' compensation and disability management. Two IWH scientists are among those delivering educational sessions: Dr. Dwayne Van Eerd on supporting employees with depression at work and Dr. Emile Tompa on a new pan-Canadian strategy on disability and work.

22 Oct 2019

IWH Speaker Series

Trends in depression and anxiety among Canadian labour force participants (2000-2016)

Kathleen Dobson, Institute for Work & Health

Despite much effort aimed at improving the mental health of Canadians, we still know little about the prevalence of two common mental health conditions across the working population. In this presentation, IWH Research Associate Kathleen Dobson shares her doctoral research exploring trends in depression and anxiety disorders in the Canadian workforce, from 2000 to 2016. She also highlights the challenges in creating high-quality population-based evidence about the labour force’s mental health.

1 Oct 2019

Conference

Lancaster House 2019 Health & Safety and Workplace Safety & Insurance Conferences

Lancaster House, in association with the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, presents the 2019 Health & Safety Conference and Workplace Safety & Insurance Conference on October 1 in Toronto. IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Emile Tompa is co-presenting a keynote address on the business case for accommodating people with mental illness at work.

6 Jun 2019

Conference

OOHNA 48th Annual Conference and Exhibition

The Ontario Occupational Health Nurses Association (OOHNA)'s annual conference, Keeping Workers Well 2019, is taking place June 6-7 in Mississauga, Ont. It offers keynote speakers, break-out sessions, optional workshops, a trade show and an evening networking event. IWH will be exhibiting at the conference on Thursday, June 6.

28 May 2019

IWH Speaker Series

The link between workplace injury and fatality risks and the use of substances affecting the central nervous system

Nancy Carnide, Institute for Work & Health

Prescription and recreational drugs that act on the central nervous system can have many adverse effects, including cognitive and psychomotor impairment. An IWH systematic review has looked into the link between workplace injury and fatality risks and the use of such substances—including opioids, benzodiazepines and cannabis. In this presentation, Dr. Nancy Carnide shares findings from that systematic review.