Job accommodation

Job accommodations, through modifications or adjustments to job processes, work environments and/or work schedules, are a key component of stay-at-work and return-to-work programs that are designed to ensure workers with work- or non-work-related injuries or illnesses (physical or mental) are able to sustain their employment. IWH conducts a wide range of research in this area, exploring barriers and facilitators to successful job accommodation, as well as disclosure of disability and other complex issues surrounding the accommodation of injured or ill workers. 

Featured

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At Work article

IWH launches tool to help workers with chronic conditions find job-tailored accommodations

An IWH-led partnership launches the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT), which is designed to help workers with chronic conditions identify job supports that may help them keep working without having to necessarily disclose their health condition
Published: March 24, 2023
A visually impaired businesswoman uses smartphone and earphones during a business meeting
At Work article

New initiative ‘skills up’ employers to hire, promote, support workers with disabilities

Efforts to date to improve the labour-force participation of persons with disabilities have focused on making them job-ready. A new initiative is now flipping that approach on its head, by focusing on 'skilling up' workplaces instead.
Published: August 23, 2022
Journal article
Journal article

The employment quality of persons with disabilities: findings from a national survey

Published: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, April 2023
Aced logos
At Work article

IWH launches tool to help workers with chronic conditions find job-tailored accommodations

An IWH-led partnership launches the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT), which is designed to help workers with chronic conditions identify job supports that may help them keep working without having to necessarily disclose their health condition
Published: March 2023
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

Unveiling the JDAPT: A new interactive tool to identify work-related support strategies for workers with chronic conditions and disability

Many workers with chronic physical and mental health conditions struggle when deciding whether to seek support from their workplace. The Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT) is designed to help address the complexity of disclosure decisions. Developed as part of a large research partnership, the JDAPT is an online, interactive tool that guides users through a series of simple questions about their job demands, job tasks and working conditions. In this presentation, Dr. Monique Gignac describes the JDAPT tool, its development, as well as data from two studies on the tool. She discusses the JDAPT’s potential to help workers by focusing on work solutions, not medical diagnoses and symptoms.
Published: March 2023
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

Return to work in Ontario police services: Current experiences and practices

What challenges do members of police services, both sworn officers and civilian staff, face in their recovery and return to work after a work injury?  In this presentation, IWH Scientist Dr. Dwayne Van Eerd shares what he heard from police members⁠—those who were injured as well as those supporting return-to-work⁠— in a qualitative study on return to work in Ontario police services. Using quotes and examples, he also offers suggestions on policies and practices that emerged from the data and that police services can implement to improve the return-to-work process. 
Published: October 2022
Project
Project

Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA): Evidence synthesis

As part of the IDEA initiative, IWH is leading an evidence synthesis component to identify needs/challenges, knowledge gaps and existing evidence-informed tools and promising practices related to IDEA's objectives.
Status: Ongoing
A visually impaired businesswoman uses smartphone and earphones during a business meeting
At Work article

New initiative ‘skills up’ employers to hire, promote, support workers with disabilities

Efforts to date to improve the labour-force participation of persons with disabilities have focused on making them job-ready. A new initiative is now flipping that approach on its head, by focusing on 'skilling up' workplaces instead.
Published: August 2022
Black silhouettes of two women in dialogue, with colourful speech bubbles above them
Research Highlights

Getting the message right: strategies to improve return-to-work communication

Communication is central to disability management—especially in large and complex organizations where multiple parties are involved in the return-to-work process and inconsistent practices can add to communication challenges. Workplace stakeholders in large and complex organizations use key strategies to effectively communicate about RTW. They include communicating messages of support, correctly timing RTW communication, carefully wording messages, framing messages and tailoring messages for individual workers.
Published: July 2022