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
Journal article
Journal article
The psychosocial work environment among educators during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published: Occupational Medicine, June 2022
Journal article
Journal article
Increased workplace bullying against nurses during COVID-19: a health and safety issue
Published: Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, June 2022
Journal article
Journal article
From hands-on to remote: moderators of response to a novel self-management telehealth programme during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published: European Journal of Pain, May 2022
Journal article
Journal article
The working conditions for personal support workers in the Greater Toronto Area during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods study
Published: Canadian Journal of Public Health, May 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
Project
Project
What are the long-term health and labour market outcomes of workers who experienced work-related COVID-19 transmission?
This project fills an important knowledge gap by determining the health and return-to-work outcomes of Canadians who acquired COVID-19 at work.
Status: Ongoing
Journal article
Journal article
Trends and disparities in the use of telehealth among injured workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published: Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 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
Journal article
Journal article
Gender differences in authorship prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic in research submissions to Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2017-2021)
Published: Occupational & Environmental Medicine, February 2022
Journal article
Journal article
The association between mental health symptoms and quality and safety of patient care before and during COVID-19 among Canadian nurses
Published: Healthcare, February 2022