IWH in the media

Small businesses often experience higher worker injury and fatality rates than large organizations in the same sector due to limited health and safety knowledge and resources. A recent study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) addressed gaps in research on new businesses – often classified as small businesses – and occupational health and safety (OHS).

About 100,000 businesses are created in Canada each year that will employ workers. Many of these new firms are small and staffed by short‑tenure employees, two factors linked to higher injury risk. But as Shane Mercer reports, in an IWH study sample, only a tenth has put in place all available safety measures, while as many as a quarter has implemented none.

The Institute for Work and Health (IWH) conducted a study to assess how immigrant workers are being supported and protected in the workplace. The study informed the development of Immigrant Workers and Language Diversity at Work: What Employers Can Do to Keep Workers Safe—a resource that provides practical guidance for addressing language barriers.

A new IWH study reinforces the importance of examining the health effects of job quality. It also underscores the need to look beyond the standard-versus-precarious-job binary and explore the other types of job quality in between.

For families, the tragedy of opioids is beyond measure. For Canada, the cost is tens of billions in lost productivity, reports Jason Kirby. The article also cites IWH's Dr. Nancy Carnide, who co-led research examining 13,700 opioid poisonings among 1.7 million people in Ontario who received workers compensation for injuries between 2006 and 2020.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the Canadian labour market, but its effects are not distributed equally among workers or occupations. At a recent Institute for Work and Health (IWH) webinar, Dr. Arif Jetha presented research exploring how AI is influencing job quality, gender equity, and worker well-being, writes Shane Mercer.

We all know about the benefits of physical activity — not just to reduce the risks of chronic disease and physical injuries but also to improve mental health and productivity at work. But many people just don’t get as much physical activity as they should. Based on research conducted at the Institute for Work & Health, there are many ways employers can play a role to encourage physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. Even small changes, such as encouraging workers to move more than they currently do, can yield meaningful heart health benefits, writes IWH's Dr. Aviroop Biswas

A new multi-year project is reportedly underway to help workplaces in Canada’s manufacturing sector retool their systems to better include youth with disabilities — especially neurodiverse youth, youth with intellectual disabilities and youth with mental health challenges. The project, co-led by Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA) and the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources (CIRHR) at the University of Toronto, will focus on reshaping workplace systems to build the capacity of workplaces to employ persons with disabilities.

A federally funded initiative will help construction and manufacturing employers in Canada improve their ability to recruit and retain young workers with disabilities over the next three years. The “Transforming Workplace Systems to Build Sustainable Capacity for Inclusion of Diverse Youth” project will receive $4.44 million over 38 months, from February 2025 to March 2028, according to an announcement from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA). The funding comes from the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program, Todd Humber reports.

As Shane Mercer reports, Institute for Work & Health associate scientist Dr. Kathleen Dobson unveils findings from a landmark study that tracks the long-term employment trajectories of Canadians with common mental disorders, severe mental disorders, and substance use disorders. 'Having a mental illness does not mean that people cannot be gainfully employed,' Dobson says.