What's new

When much of work-related training went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic, providers of occupational health and safety training naturally began asking questions about the effectiveness of online real-time formats. In a recent study, a research team at the Institute for Work & Health reviewed the research literature to date. So how does synchronous or real-time online learning compare with face-to-face methods? A new plain-language summary outlines the evidence.

Don't miss this opportunity to play a part in the governance of the Institute for Work & Health. The Institute's Board of Directors is looking for new members. Please help us spread the word by forwarding this call for members to qualified individuals. Submissions are accepted until Friday, August 12.

How much physical activity do Canadian workers actually do in a day, and when? And what patterns of movement are associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease? An Institute for Work & Health (IWH) study drew on activity tracker data to answer these questions. It found that people who were sedentary—i.e. who did little physical activity throughout the day—had the highest risk of heart disease compared to most other groups. No surprise there. What is surprising, however, was how their heart health risk compared with those who did vigorous, tiring work all day.

Communication is central to disability management, especially in large and complex organizations where communication challenges can be exacerbated by the involvement of multiple parties and inconsistent practices. An IWH research team set out to better understand the strategies used by workplace stakeholders to effectively communicate return-to-work (RTW) issues. Their insights are now summed up in the latest Research Highlights.

Men and women may be part of the labour force in roughly equal proportions. But many jobs and industries are still dominated by one sex/gender or another. In that light, a new systematic review at IWH looks at how work exposures and injury/illness outcomes are different for men and women.

Guarding Minds @ Work is a widely used survey designed to measure 13 psychosocial dimensions of the work environment that have the potential to affect worker mental health. However, a joint study by the Institute for Work & Health and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers finds the survey unable to measure each of the 13 dimensions in isolation. This has implications for workplaces that use the measure to assess how well they are doing on specific psychosocial dimensions, such as workforce civility and respect, workload management and more, says the research team.

What’s the return-on-investment (ROI) for every dollar employers spend on occupational health and safety? A team at IWH has come up with an estimate for three Ontario sectors—manufacturing, construction and transportation—based on previous research and on Workplace Safety and Insurance Board data.

In this issue:  

Higher injury risk linked to cannabis use at or before work, but not to cannabis use off-work

How government funding can best support the employment of persons with disabilities

Widely used survey lacks ability to distinctly measure the 13 factors of the psychosocial work environment

And more....

A team led by Institute for Work & Health (IWH) Senior Scientist Dr. Monique Gignac has been announced first place winner in a competition called Inclusive Design Challenge: Support at Work. The competition, the second of the MaRS Innovation Challenges series and co-sponsored by CIBC, is aimed at finding solutions that improve support at work for persons with disabilities. 

The ACED project team (short for Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities) won the competition for its Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool. It's designed to help people think about the workplace supports they need when they live with a chronic health condition that can cause challenges. Recruiting is underway to test the tool. 

Five practical messages you can take away from IWH research over the past year. That’s the idea behind our annual handout, 5 Things We Think You Should Know, created especially for occupational health and safety practitioners and stakeholders. Find out what the 2022 messages are.

The Institute is looking for a Director, Strategic Relations. This individual will work with IWH’s executive team to amplify the Institute’s provincial, national and international presence, broaden research audiences, and promote diversity among research and stakeholder groups. The individual will also identify opportunities for IWH expertise to contribute to the development of policies, programs and resources at the provincial and federal levels—and particularly within Ontario’s prevention system.

Injured workers who report having poor interactions with case managers during the workers’ compensation claims process face a higher risk of developing serious or elevated psychological distress later on. That’s according to a recent IWH study that followed a group of Ontario claimants 18 months after their injury.

A version of the IWH-Organizational Performance Metric (IWH-OPM) is used by Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to let workplaces in its Health and Safety Excellence Program measure their safety culture against a benchmark. The measure also allows the compensation agency to track trends in safety culture over time among participating organizations.

Frontline workers know better than anyone what musculoskeletal (MSD) hazards they encounter on the job—and how to solve them. Participatory ergonomics is an occupational health and safety (OHS) approach that puts worker involvement front and centre. An IWH study led by Scientist Dr. Dwayne Van Eerd found this approach can be successfully implemented and sustained—even in busy long-term care facilities challenged by staff shortages and high turnover.

Over a third of work-related injuries and illnesses treated in Ontario hospital emergency rooms (ERs) don’t get reported as Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) claims. That’s according to a recent Institute for Work & Health (IWH) data linkage study that found notable patterns in work-related injury reporting and under-reporting—including a change in reporting levels following the 2008/09 global financial crisis.

Are you an Ontario primary health-care provider who treats or supports patients with injuries and illnesses that affect their ability to work? Project ECHO OEM is a telementoring program on occupational and environmental medicine set up just for you. Learn about best practices to better support patients in recovery and return to work or stay at work. Sessions are held via videoconference each Friday from April 22 to July 15, 2022. Registration is ongoing.

A research team at the Institute has developed a workplace support and accommodation planning tool for workers living with a chronic, episodic health condition. It’s designed to help workers think about the self-management strategies and workplace supports they need. The Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool is now ready to be pilot-tested in an evaluation study. If you work in Canada and are looking for support in managing your chronic, episodic health condition, you can help the team test the tool. 

The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is now accepting applications for its 12-month S. Leonard Syme Research Training Awards in Work and Health.

The awards are for young researchers at the master's or doctoral level intending to study work and health. Preference is given to candidates whose research interests closely align with IWH's current research and topic areas. IWH is particularly interested in candidates whose research addresses the prevention of work-related injury and illness, and the prevention and management of disability at work in Ontario. In the spirit of Dr. Syme's own contributions to research mentorship, candidates from any disciplinary background are eligible for training awards. A maximum of three smaller awards or one larger award may be offered. Awards are based on the merit of the research proposed.

The registration deadline for applications is April 29, 2022. Enquiries should be directed to Lyudmila Mansurova: lmansurova@iwh.on.ca.

Studies to date have repeatedly shown a link between poor psychosocial work conditions and burnout. Some have also shown the link to potentially be a causal one. But if work can cause burnout, might burnout influence a person’s relationship to work? A new IWH study recently explored this question. 

Almost 22 years ago, in the summer of 2000, master's student Peter Smith walked through the doors of the Institute for Work & Health for a 16-week practicum placement. Now, Dr. Peter Smith is president of the Institute, replacing Dr. Cameron Mustard, who retired in January after 20 years in the position. In a Q&A with At Work, Smith looks back at his history with the Institute and his vision for its future. 

Many types of workplace practices and supports are available to help and accommodate workers with depression. But which do workers find most useful? Do their managers find the same? A study asks workers with lived experience of depression and the people who manage them, and finds rather divergent views.