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

Two workers wearing masks look at a tablet together
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
An overhead shot of a teacher, sitting in front of two laptops in a cramped corner of her home office
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
Benefits Canada logo
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
Journal article
Journal article
Journal article

Incidence of outbreak-associated COVID-19 cases by industry in Ontario, Canada, 1 April 2020-31 March 2021

Published: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, January 2022
OHS Canada logo
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
Workplace inspectors inspecting a workplace during COVID, as indicated by the masks they are wearing
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
Close-up of floor markings indicating six feet distances
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
The Conversation logo
IWH in the media

Lessons from COVID-19 for the next pandemic: We need better data on workplace transmission

If we had, from the early days of the pandemic, routinely and systematically collected information from COVID-positive people about their work, we would have enhanced our understanding of the role of workplaces in the spread of COVID-19, the relative importance of mitigation strategies, and potentially allowed more people to continue working at the workplace with minimal risk. That's according to an op-ed co-authored by Institute for Work & Health's Dr. Peter Smith, Prof. Andrew Curran of the United Kingdom's Health and Safety Executive, and Dr. Letitia Davis of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Published: The Conversation, November 2021
Journal article
Journal article

Depression, anxiety and stress among Swedish university students during the second and third waves of COVID-19: a cohort study

Published: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, November 2021