Dr. Basak Yanar
Dr. Basak Yanar is a scientist at the Institute for Work & Health, and an assistant professor in the division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She holds a PhD in organizational behaviour and human resource management from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Yanar’s research focuses on migration, work, and occupational health and safety (OHS). She studies the working conditions of newcomers to Canada and the role played by employers, the settlement sector and the OHS prevention system in promoting safe work integration of recent immigrants and refugees. Her current program of research explores workplace health and safety within the context of linguistic and cultural diversity and how employers can foster inclusive safety practices. As a social scientist with disciplinary training in organizational behaviour, Yanar is also interested in the psychosocial work environment and the ways organizations can promote healthier and safer workplaces.
Yanar is a qualitative researcher with a keen interest in collaboration with community organizations, employers and system partners in developing solutions to improve the health and safety of immigrant workers.
![Photo of Basak Yanar](/sites/iwh/files/styles/portrait_hidpi/public/iwh/images/people/yanar_basak_2022.jpg?h=7fe3a1da&itok=4gMh7YVh)
“Thinking about occupational health and safety in Canada, it is impossible not to think of immigrant workers. As Canada continues to rely on immigration for its economic growth, we need to understand how to better promote safety in linguistically and culturally diverse workplaces, and address the vulnerable working conditions immigrants find themselves in, whether they have recently arrived or not.” – Dr. Basak Yanar
Projects
- 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.
- Creating safe workplaces for newcomers. Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- First Responder Mental Health Treatment Services: Formative evaluation of a pilot program. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). Ongoing.
- Programs of early OHS intervention with small businesses. Funded by WorkSafeBC. Ongoing.
- Return to work in policing: synthesizing current practices and implementation guidance. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario. Ongoing.
Publications
- Yanar B, Robson LS, Tonima S, Amick B. Understanding the organizational performance metric, an occupational health and safety management tool, through workplace case studies. International Journal of Workplace Health Management. 2020;13(2):117-138. doi:10.1108/IJWHM-09-2018-0126.
- Premji S, Kosny A, Yanar B, Begum M. Tool for the meaningful consideration of language barriers in qualitative health research. Qualitative Health Research. 2020;30(2):167-181. doi:10.1177/1049732319856303.
- Jetha A, Yanar B, Lay M, Mustard C. Work disability management communication bottlenecks within large and complex public service organizations: a sociotechnical systems study. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2019;29(4):754-763. doi:10.1007/s10926-019-09836-3.
- Yanar B, Amick B, Lambraki I, D'Elia T, Severin C, Van Eerd D. How are leaders using benchmarking information in occupational health and safety decision-making?. Safety Science. 2019;116:245-253. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2019.03.016.
- Yanar B, Kosny A, Lifshen M. Perceived role and expectations of health care providers in return to work. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2019;29(1):212-221. doi:10.1007/s10926-018-9781-y.
Speaker Series presentations
- Understanding OHS motivations and needs in small businesses. IWH Speaker Series. March 19, 2024.
- Estimating the financial benefits of OHS spending: a study of Ontario employers . IWH Speaker Series. February 14, 2023.
- Safe work integration of newcomers: Employer perspectives. IWH Speaker Series. October 13, 2020.
- Capacity building and evaluation of OHS training in settlement agencies. IWH Speaker Series. January 28, 2020.
- Safe employment integration of recent immigrants and refugees. IWH Speaker Series. October 31, 2017.
Interviews and articles
- Baranyai: Workplace training key for safety of newcomers. The London Free Press. April 27, 2018. Available from: http://lfpress.com/opinion/columnists/baranyai-workplace-training-key-for-safety-of-newcomers
- Newcomers often lack OHS protection and information in their precarious first jobs. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 91, Winter 2018.
- Recent immigrants, refugees largely unaware of OHS: Researchers. Canadian Occupational Safety: Thomson Reuters (Toronto, ON). November 7, 2017. Available from: http://www.cos-mag.com/personal-process-safety/35057-recent-immigrants-refugees-largely-unaware-of-ohs-researchers/
- OPM follow-up questions now available to help firms act on leading indicator scores. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 84, Spring 2016.