COVID-19
COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. In short order, the world of work changed dramatically in Canada. Non-essential businesses were locked down. Some workers lost their jobs; others were sent home to work. Essential businesses kept going. Despite protections, workers in sectors ranging from health care to transportation to food production and retail faced risk of infection, illness and even death. IWH researchers are looking at the impact of the pandemic on workers and workplaces, and what it means going forward.
Featured
At Work article
Study of educators during pandemic found psychosocial conditions worse for those teaching online
In the fall of 2020, Ontario educators who taught in a virtual environment felt isolated and unsupported, while those working in-person experienced anxiety related to the risk of COVID transmission. That’s according a study of Ontario teachers, conducted by OHCOW and IWH.
Published: October 5, 2022
At Work article
What research can do: Scanning how OHS authorities responded to the pandemic
A new Issue Briefing looks at common challenges in the way labour inspection authorities in developed countries around the world have responded to the pandemic
Published: December 2, 2021
IWH in the media
They made doors, gum and jerry cans. Ontario’s ‘essential’ workers in manufacturing accounted for more workplace COVID deaths than any other sector — even health care
Using fatality reports filed to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, the Toronto Star's Sara Mojtehedzadeh put together a comprehensive snapshot of COVID deaths in Ontario that are linked to workplace transmission. IWH president Dr. Peter Smith offers comments on the importance of occupational data in pandemic surveillance.
Published: Toronto Star, October 2022
At Work article
Study of educators during pandemic found psychosocial conditions worse for those teaching online
In the fall of 2020, Ontario educators who taught in a virtual environment felt isolated and unsupported, while those working in-person experienced anxiety related to the risk of COVID transmission. That’s according a study of Ontario teachers, conducted by OHCOW and IWH.
Published: October 2022
Research Highlights
Working conditions for Greater Toronto Area personal support workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Personal support workers (PSWs) faced a range of challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including concerns of contracting or transmitting the virus, reduced work hours and income, loss of childcare services and lack of paid sick leave. While the pandemic highlighted the importance of the PSW workforce to the Canadian health-care system, pre-existing poor working conditions—in particular, insecure jobs with few benefits—exacerbated COVID-19-related work experiences.
Published: July 2022
Journal article
Journal article
The psychosocial work environment among educators during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published: Occupational Medicine, June 2022
Journal article
Journal article
Precarious work among personal support workers in the Greater Toronto Area: a respondent-driven sampling study
Published: CMAJ Open, April 2022
IWH in the media
Host of symptoms, variable recovery times complicate return to work for those with long COVID
Long COVID can be difficult for workplaces to grapple with, due to the variety of symptoms, the way it flares up unexpectedly and the unclear timeline for recovery. IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Smith is among the researchers interviewed in this episode of The Current.
Published: CBC Radio - The Current, February 2022
IWH in the media
How the City of Toronto is supporting employee mental health in 2022 and beyond
As many organizations, including the City of Toronto, plan on bringing white-collar staff back to the office after some spent nearly two years working from home, employers are prioritizing employees’ mental-health support this year and beyond. Melissa Dunne interviews IWH Scientific Co-Director and Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Smith, among others.
Published: Benefits Canada, January 2022
IWH in the media
Analyzing the data behind workplace spread of COVID-19
According to a pair of studies conducted jointly by the Institute for Work & Health and Public Health Ontario, layers of COVID-19 infection control measures were adopted in majority of workplaces through pandemic during the second and third waves. And between April 2020 and March 2021, rates of workplace COVID-19 transmission in most sectors were lower than rates of community spread.
Published: OHS Canada, December 2021
At Work article
What research can do: Scanning how OHS authorities responded to the pandemic
A new Issue Briefing looks at common challenges in the way labour inspection authorities in developed countries around the world have responded to the pandemic
Published: December 2021
At Work article
In most sectors, workplaces saw lower COVID transmission rates than in the community
What was the role of workplaces in contributing to COVID-19 case counts in Ontario? And what measures did workplaces across Canada put in place to reduce or prevent COVID spread? A team at IWH and Public Health Ontario draw on population-level data to find out.
Published: November 2021