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. He is also interested in understanding how changing working conditions can shape the labour market experiences of youth and young adults living with disabilities and chronic disease at the early career phase and across the life course.
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. Jetha is currently the recipient of the Stars Career Development Salary Award from the Arthritis Society.
“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
Research areas
Projects
- Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED): A partnership to deliver workplace resources to sustain employment of people with chronic, episodic conditions. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada Signature Initiative. Ongoing.
- Artificial intelligence and occupational injury and illness in Ontario: implications for prevention and recovery. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy: Envisioning the future of disability policy in Canada. Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Ongoing.
- Champions as social agents of change: what can we learn from worker well-being initiatives?. Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Ongoing.
- Conceal or reveal? Facilitators and barriers to older workers' communication of accommodation needs. Funded by Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada. Ongoing.
Publications
- Bonaccio S, Connelly CE, Fisher SL, Gellatly IR, Gignac MA, Jetha A. Beyond managing research partnerships: partnered research as an integrated methodological approach. Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 2018;11(4):613-619. doi:10.1017/iop.2018.123.
- Jetha A, Gignac MA, Bowring J, Tucker S, Connelly CE, Proulx L, Martin Ginis KA. Supporting arthritis and employment across the life course: a qualitative study. Arthritis Care & Research. 2018;70(10):1461-1468. doi:10.1002/acr.23523.
- Jetha A, LaMontagne AD, Lilley R, Hogg-Johnson S, Sim MR, Smith PM. Workplace social system and sustained return-to-work: a study of supervisor and co-worker supportiveness and injury reaction. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2018;28(3):486-494. doi:10.1007/s10926-017-9724-z.
- Jetha A, Bowring J, Tucker S, Connelly CE, Martin Ginis KA, Proulx L, Gignac MA. Transitions that matter: life course differences in the employment of adults with arthritis. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2018;40(26):3127-3135. doi:10.1080/09638288.2017.1378387.
- Besen E, Jetha A, Gaines B. Examining the likelihood of experiencing productivity loss and receiving social security disability income following the onset of chronic disease. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2018;60(1):48-54. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000001159.
Speaker Series presentations
- Three scenarios of a future working world: Using strategic foresight to imagine and respond to a changing world of work for young adults living with a disability in Canada. IWH Speaker Series. October 17, 2023.
- Racial and ethnic inequities in the return-to-work of workers following an injury or illness: Findings from a systematic review. IWH Speaker Series. January 17, 2023.
- What the future of work looks like to young people with disabilities. IWH Speaker Series. December 14, 2021.
- Fragmentation in the future of work: Exploring the impact of the changing nature of work on vulnerable workers. IWH Speaker Series. February 23, 2021.
- Promoting labour market transitions for young adults with chronic disabling conditions: a systematic review. IWH Speaker Series. November 27, 2018.
Interviews and articles
- IWH researchers create roadmap for AI research that prioritizes worker health. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 113, Summer .
- Three future of work scenarios to help develop inclusion strategies for young people with disabilities. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 112, Spring 2023.
- Launching a research program on AI, work and health. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 111, Winter 2023.
- ‘My new co-worker is shiny’: Pandemic accelerated adoption of workplace robots. OHS Canada. April 25, 2022. Available from: https://www.ohscanada.com/features/my-new-co-worker-is-shiny/
- I struggled with office life. Now others are alive to benefits of remote working. The Guardian. July 25, 2021. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/25/working-from-home-mental-health