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
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
Issue Briefing
Incidence of COVID-19 transmission in Ontario workplaces
As the incidence of diagnosed cases escalates in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, it is important to understand the degree to which employment in the essential service sectors represents an increased risk of infection. This Issue Briefing examines what the available data says about the role of workplaces in COVID-19 transmission in Ontario, the relative contribution of workplace outbreaks to case numbers, and current information gaps at the population level.
Published: January 2021
Journal article
Journal article
The association between the perceived adequacy of workplace infection control procedures and personal protective equipment with mental health symptoms: a cross-sectional survey of Canadian health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published: Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, January 2021
IWH in the media
Quebec and Ontario labour activists urge for more transparency around COVID-19 outbreaks in workplaces
Labour activists in Quebec and Ontario say more transparency is needed around COVID-19 outbreaks in warehouses and factories, writes the Canadian Press's Jacob Serebrin, with comments from IWH President Dr. Cameron Mustard.
Published: The Canadian Press, December 2020
News release
News release
Workers who feel protected from COVID at work have better mental health, research suggests
Published: December 2020
IWH in the media
Unsafe workplaces during COVID-19 taking huge toll on workers’ mental health
Poor workplace COVID-19 precautions exacted a greater toll on workers’ mental health than losing a job during the pandemic, a new study has found. The Toronto Star's Sara Mojtehedzadeh speaks to co-leads of the study, Institute for Work & Health's Dr. Peter Smith and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers's John Oudyk.
Published: Toronto Star, December 2020
IWH in the media
Study links inadequate PPE, COVID-19 infection controls to worker mental health issues
Feelings of anxiety and depression were highest among workers whose perceived personal protective equipment and infection control needs were not met during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Safety + Health reports on a study by the Institute for Work & Health and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers.
Published: Safety + Health, December 2020
IWH in the media
Workplaces are the new hotspot for COVID-19 outbreaks in Ontario
Whether it’s factories, food processing plants or construction sites, the latest numbers show heavily populated, essential workplaces are hotspots for COVID-19 in Ontario, Mark Carcasole reports, with quotes from Institute for Work & Health's Dr. Cameron Mustard.
Published: Global News, December 2020