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. 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 research examines the impact of the pandemic on workers and workplaces, as well as the lessons for work and health policy-makers to prepare for the next pandemic.
Featured
Research Highlights
Mental health of Canadians who work from home no better or worse than those working outside the home
Canadian adults who work from home report the same levels of mental health, life satisfaction and stress as those who work on-site at a workplace, or at no fixed location (on the road). That’s according to a study of survey data from almost 25,000 Canadians in 2022.
Published: October 8, 2025
At Work article
What can work-related COVID-19 cases tell us about how to prepare for the next pandemic?
A new study by IWH combined data sources to estimate work-related COVID-19 infection rates, using a method that took into account major shifts in where people worked.
Published: February 6, 2024
Research Highlights
Mental health of Canadians who work from home no better or worse than those working outside the home
Canadian adults who work from home report the same levels of mental health, life satisfaction and stress as those who work on-site at a workplace, or at no fixed location (on the road). That’s according to a study of survey data from almost 25,000 Canadians in 2022, after work-from-home arrangements became more common.
Published: October 2025
Journal article
Journal article
Work productivity loss in people living with long COVID symptoms over 2 years from infection
Published: Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, August 2025
Journal article
Journal article
Is working from home good for mental health and well-being? Associations between work location, self-rated mental health, life satisfaction, and life and work stress among Canadian adults
Published: Mental Health & Prevention, April 2025
Journal article
Journal article
Responding to the ongoing pandemic-related challenges of individuals with brain injury through the perspective of community-service in Canada: a qualitative study
Published: Brain Injury, January 2025
Journal article
Journal article
Health-related adverse work outcomes associated with post COVID-19 condition: a cross-sectional study
Published: BMJ Public Health, January 2025
Journal article
Journal article
Precarious employment and the workplace transmission of COVID-19: evidence from workers' compensation claims in Ontario, Canada
Published: Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, August 2024
Journal article
Journal article
Telework and 24-h movement behaviours among adults living in Canada during the Covid-19 pandemic
Published: Preventative Medicine, June 2024
Journal article
Journal article
The health and safety experiences of precariously employed Bangladeshi immigrant workers in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published: New Solutions, May 2024
Journal article
Journal article
Factors contributing to increased workplace violence against nurses during COVID-19 in the healthcare settings of a lower middle-income country: a qualitative study
Published: Asian Nursing Research, April 2024
At Work article
What can work-related COVID-19 cases tell us about how to prepare for the next pandemic?
To what extent did workplace exposures account for the transmission of the COVID-19 virus during the first two years of the pandemic? A new study by IWH combined data sources to estimate work-related infection rates, using a method that took into account major shifts in where people worked. It found the role of work exposure changed from wave to wave, in a dynamic pattern not in keeping with the number of cases in the general population.
Published: February 2024