What's new

Working at home in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic means having no time and little opportunity to set up ergonomically sound workstations. So what can office workers do to make their kitchen table workspaces as comfortable as possible? We turn to Dr. Dwayne Van Eerd, who co-led the development of eOfficeErgo, for advice.

Workers’ compensation claimants with work-related psychological injuries report poorer experiences and interactions throughout the return-to-work (RTW) process. According to an IWH study conducted in Australia, these experiences are interconnected, leading to longer time off from work.

At the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), we have implemented a number of workplace social distancing measures. Most of us are working remotely. We have cancelled events scheduled to take place in the near term. We are conducting all meetings virtually.

We know we are in the fortunate position of being able to work remotely. To the health-care workers, emergency service providers, airline and transit personnel, retail employees and others on the front lines, we thank you wholeheartedly for your important work.

You will continue to hear from us through our newsletters, website and social media channels. In the meantime, we wish you the best in these difficult times. Stay safe and be well.

Dr. Cameron Mustard 
President, Institute for Work & Health

Due to circumstances related to COVID-19, the Institute is postponing the Safe Work Integration of Newcomers Forum, originally scheduled to take place March 30. We will announce a new date as soon as we know. We continue to monitor updates from public health officials regarding other events due to take place in the spring. They include the annual Systematic Review Workshop, scheduled for mid-May, as well as future IWH Speaker Series presentations.

Among workers with a compensation claim for a work-related musculoskeletal injury, 30 per cent also experience a serious mental condition. However, a minority of these workers receive treatment for their mental health conditions, according to an Institute for Work & Health study conducted in Australia.

Congratulations to Dr. Basak Yanar, who was recently promoted from research associate to associate scientist at the Institute. Yanar has been leading research on the working conditions of newcomers to Canada. One of her current projects examines the role of employers, settlement service providers and the occupational health and safety (OHS) prevention system in promoting safe work among new immigrants.

How well can a set of eight questions capture something as broad and multi-faceted as an organization’s occupational health and safety (OHS) policies and practices? An Institute for Work & Health (IWH) team conducted interviews and worksite visits at organizations that had completed the eight-item leading indicator tool, called the IWH-Organizational Performance Metric. It found consistent patterns in how high- and medium-scorers approach OHS.

Now that the non-medical use of cannabis is legal, how much has changed in workers’ use of, and attitudes about, cannabis at work? Find out at an IWH Speaker Series presentation on March 3, when IWH Associate Scientist Dr. Nancy Carnide shares early results from her surveys of workers pre- and post-legalization.

What workplace-based interventions are effective in helping workers with musculoskeletal disorders, pain and/or mental health conditions return to work (RTW)? What does the research literature say about the effectiveness of case management, work hardening, physician training and other practices on RTW outcomes? Our new Sharing Best Evidence summarizes findings of a systematic review.

On February 4, CRWDP director and IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Emile Tompa introduces a new standard created by the CSA Group, in conjunction with the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP) and Conestoga College. At the IWH Speaker Series presentation, Tompa discusses how the Work Disability Management Systems Standard (CSA Z1011) sets out best practices on injury/illness rehabilitation, return-to-work plans, and accommodation of workers with disabilities.

Exploring the use of coroner data to understand the impact of cannabis on work-related deaths, anticipating future labour-market challenges facing young people with disabilities, tracking long-term outcomes for workers’ compensation claimants: these are just some of the new projects under way at IWH, thanks to external grants awarded over the past year.

After two years of extensive consultation with a host of stakeholders, the pan-Canadian strategy on greater inclusion of people with disabilities in the labour market is now out. The strategy was unveiled in December at the 2019 Disability and Work in Canada Conference, where participants looked ahead for opportunities to make progress with concrete, achievable initiatives.

Newcomers to Canada are at 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). IWH was recently involved in a project focused on supporting settlement agencies to promote OHS awareness among newcomers. In an upcoming IWH Speaker Series presentation, IWH's Dr. Basak Yanar joins Eduardo Huesca of Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) to talk about OHS capacity-building workshops for settlement agencies. They also discuss opportunities for Ontario’s OHS system partners to further support the settlement sector.

In many developed countries, including Canada, encouraging older workers to stay in the workforce is a common policy goal. But what do we know about current work participation patterns among people aged 65 to 75? A new study involving IWH looks at data in Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden.

The holidays are upon us. We at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) wish you all the best of the season. May your holidays be restful, joyful and safe. Thank you for your support in 2019. Let’s resolve to continue working towards greater worker protection in the new year.

Previous studies have suggested that the process of making a workers’ compensation claim is linked with poorer mental health. A new study by IWH examines the contribution of one aspect of the process: the interactions between injured workers and case managers. As summed up in At Work, the findings of this study drive home the importance of treating claimants respectfully and giving them the information they need.

Do you have successes to share or insights to explore with others in the global occupational health and safety community? Submit your proposal to present your strategic solutions, research findings or industry innovations at the XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work. The deadline for submissions has been extended to January 15, 2020. World Congress 2020, co-hosted by IWH and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, takes place in Toronto, October 4-7.

What can IWH research do? It can point to injuries and illnesses emerging in today’s working environment. It can find new solutions and best practices to prevent work injuries and disabilities. It can evaluate the effectiveness of system-level health, safety and disability prevention policies and programs. Our 2018-19 annual report, now out, highlights examples of IWH work during the year ending March 31, 2019, that did just this.

The Fall 2019 issue of At Work is now "on the stands." In the issue, learn how claimants' perceptions about fair treatment by case managers are linked to their odds of experiencing poor mental health. Read about the workplace roles that most commonly experience communication problems around return to work. Find out the link between COR certification and injury rates. And more... 

Congratulations to IWH Senior Scientist and Scientific Co-Director Dr. Monique Gignac. In early November, the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Professions (ARP) named her a recipient of one of its 2019 service awards. The ARP Addie Thomas award recognizes an association member who has been an active volunteer involved with local, regional, national and/or international arthritis-related activities. 

Currently, no national or international standard is available to help Canadian employers achieve excellence in their work disability management systems. A research team, which includes IWH Senior Scientist and Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP) Director Dr. Emile Tompa, has been working with the CSA Group to change that. A new proposed standard on work disability prevention management systems—the CSA Z1011 standard—is now available for public review and comment. The deadline for feedback is December 8.

Disability management depends on good communication. In large and complex organizations, communication breakdowns about return to work (RTW) tend to concentrate around two key roles: front-line supervisors and case managers. That’s according to an IWH study of communication bottlenecks in disability management.

The Institute has been honoured with a 2019 Korn Ferry Engaged Performance Award. The award recognizes 71 organizations from around the world that score high in two categories—engagement and enablement—in the consulting firm’s employee surveys. Winning organizations are chosen based on employee responses to four statements: “I feel proud to work for the company,” “I would recommend the company as a good place to work,” “My job makes good use of my skills and abilities” and “Conditions in my job allow me to be as productive as I can be.”

Estimates of the economic burden of work-related injuries and illnesses help policy-makers and other stakeholders in occupational health and safety (OHS) set priorities. In a recent European Agency for Safety and Health at Work project, IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Emile Tompa led a team to compile such estimates for five European Union countries: Germany, Poland, Finland, The Netherlands and Italy. On November 12, he shares findings and discusses the methods used—methods that can serve as a template for economic burden estimates elsewhere.

Having a health condition or a chronic disease can be challenging for older workers, but it doesn’t necessarily decrease their intention to work or hasten their retirement. According to an IWH study on retirement expectations, with appropriate policies and practices, older workers with health limitations can be supported to remain active in the labour force.

One year ago today, non-medical cannabis was legalized in Canada. Four months before legalization, researchers from the Institute for Work & Health surveyed workers across Canada to find out about their use of, and beliefs about, cannabis at work. These researchers are surveying this same group of workers (and more) for three years post-legalization to find out if their use and beliefs are changing. Some of the findings from the pre-legalization survey are now available in an infographic.

Front-line staff are the experts when it comes to spotting workplace musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) hazards and proposing solutions. That's the main idea behind an injury prevention approach called "participatory ergonomics." A new video outlines what we learned, thanks to a project with Public Services Health & Safety Association, about implementing this approach in the long-term care sector.

Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED), a five-year partnership led by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), is developing evidence-based workplace resources to support the sustained employment of people with chronic, intermittent and often-invisible disabilities (e.g. depression, arthritis, HIV/AIDs, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis and more). Today, IWH launched a website to share information about the ACED project, the partners involved, and the findings and tools as they become available.