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
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
IWH Speaker Series
Refining estimates of occupational exposures and risk of workplace COVID-19 transmission
Published: January 16, 2024
IWH in the media
Re-opening the economy should include access for young people with chronic disease
Young workers who are immunocompromised will need employers to continue to enforce COVID-19-prevention strategies. And paid sick leave will remain a priority to prevent workers from coming to work with COVID-19 symptoms, writes IWH's Dr. Arif Jetha in an op-ed.
Published: The Province, June 2021
Journal article
Journal article
An umbrella review of the work and health impacts of working in an epidemic/pandemic environment
Published: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, June 2021
Project
Project
Ontario Life After Work Injury Study: Understanding the long-term recovery and labour market outcomes of injured workers in the shadow of COVID-19
Building on IWH's original Ontario Life After Work Injury Study (OLAWIS), IWH is looking in particular at the long-term outcomes of people who were recovering and returning to work during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Status: Ongoing
At Work article
Education, type of work lessen pandemic job loss in youths with rheumatic diseases
Young adults with rheumatic diseases have generally faced greater challenges in the job market than their healthy peers. That was why an IWH research team set out to examine their work experiences during the pandemic.
Published: June 2021
Journal article
Journal article
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, financial worries, and perceived organizational support among people living with disabilities in Canada
Published: Disability and Health Journal, June 2021
Journal article
Journal article
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment of Canadian young adults with rheumatic disease: longitudinal survey findings
Published: Arthritis Care and Research, May 2021
At Work article
Nine trends that will likely shape future of work for groups of vulnerable workers
Climate change, artificial intelligence, robotics and automation. The world of work will look very different in the next two decades as a result of major system-wide changes. What might it hold for vulnerable workers?
Published: April 2021
IWH in the media
What employers can learn from the NBA about returning to work amid COVID-19
The response of employers to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a mixed bag. As the economy reopens, employers face new challenges navigating health and productivity pitfalls when bringing workers back to physical premises. The National Basketball Association’s experiences returning to the hard court last season was a well-publicized achievement. IWH Scientist Dr. Arif Jetha and Public Health Ontario's Dr. Brendan Smith list four important lessons from the NBA for employers on how to return employees to the workplace during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published: The Conversation, April 2021
Journal article
Journal article
Labour market attachment, workplace infection control procedures and mental health: a cross-sectional survey of Canadian non-healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published: Annals of Work Exposures and Health, April 2021
At Work article
What research can do: Workplace COVID outbreaks reported by Ontario public health account for one in 20 cases in working-age adults
In the second wave of the pandemic so far, outbreaks in essential service workplaces (excluding health-care, congregate living and educational settings) have contributed just over five per cent of all cases among working-age adults in Ontario.
Published: March 2021