Dr. Arif Jetha
Dr. Arif Jetha is associate scientific director and scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. He is also an associate professor (status-only) at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Jetha earned his PhD in behavioural sciences and public health at the University of Toronto, and an MSc in health community and development from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also held post-doctoral fellowships at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety and the Institute for Work & Health.
Jetha’s program of research aims at understanding how sociopolitical, technological, environmental and economic changes that characterize the future of work affect the health and employment participation of vulnerable workers including young workers and persons living with disabilities. He is specifically interested in the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on the health, safety and well-being of workers.
To pursue his research program, Jetha takes a systems perspective and uses a mixed-methods research approach. He collaborates closely with diverse research partners to produce findings that can inform policy and practice.
“The world of work is changing at a rapid rate. Studying the future of work allows me to understand the emerging challenges facing workers and create an evidence base that can be used to inform the design of policies and programs that are resilient to change and protect the most vulnerable.”
— Dr. Arif Jetha
Projects
- Role of accommodations and communication practices in supporting the employment participation of Canadians living with disabilities. Funded by Canadian Disability Participation Project. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Strengthening disability management in Ontario’s municipal sector. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Social Sciences Humanities Research Council Signature Initiative. Completed.
- Supporting the employment participation of Canadian young adults with chronic conditions: a systematic review. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Understanding employment transitions among people living with arthritis across the life course. Funded by Canadian Disability Participation Project, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Partnership Grant. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Return to work in policing: synthesizing current practices and implementation guidance. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario. Completed.
Publications
- Fisher SL, Bonaccio S, Jetha A, Winkler M, Birch GE, Gignac MA. Guidelines for conducting partnered research in applied psychology: an illustration from disability research in employment contexts. Applied Psychology. 2023;72(4):1367-1391. doi:10.1111/apps.12438.
- Jetha A, Tucker L, Shahidi FV, Backman C, Kristman VL, Hazel EM, Perlin L, Proulx L, Chen C, Gignac MA. How does job insecurity and workplace activity limitations relate to rheumatic disease symptom trajectories in young adulthood? A longitudinal study. Arthritis Care & Research. 2023;75(1):14-21. doi:10.1002/acr.24982.
- Di Giuseppe G, Pagalan L, Jetha A, Pechlivanoglou P, Pole JD. Financial toxicity among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors: a systematic review of educational attainment, employment, and income. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology. 2023;183:103914. doi:10.1016/j.critrevonc.2023.103914.
- Jetha A, Nasir K, Van Eerd D, Gignac MA, Martin Ginis KA, Tompa E. Inclusion of young people with disabilities in the future of work: forecasting workplace, labour market and community-based strategies through an online and accessible Delphi survey protocol. BMJ Open. 2022;12(7):e055452. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055452.
- Jetha A, Nasir K. Strategies to ensure young persons with disabilities are included in the future of work. Institute for Work & Health; 2022.
Speaker Series presentations
- Promoting labour market transitions for young adults with chronic disabling conditions: a systematic review. IWH Speaker Series. November 27, 2018.
- Life course concepts in the work experiences of people with arthritis. IWH Speaker Series. November 22, 2016.
Interviews and articles
- Education, type of work lessen pandemic job loss in youths with rheumatic diseases. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 104, Spring 2021.
- Nine trends that will likely shape future of work for groups of vulnerable workers. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 104, Spring 2021.
- What employers can learn from the NBA about returning to work amid COVID-19. The Conversation. April 5, 2021. Available from: https://theconversation.com/what-employers-can-learn-from-the-nba-about-returning-to-work-amid-covid-19-157022
- Precarity more likely for older, new workers with disabilities. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 103, Winter 2021.
- Canadian workers aren’t too worried about robots taking their jobs, web survey finds. Toronto Star. December 14, 2020. Available from: https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2020/09/16/canadian-workers-arent-too-worried-about-robots-taking-their-jobs-web-survey-finds.html