Mental health in the workplace
Workplaces play a dual role in the area of mental health. On the one hand, they can be a stressful environment that contributes to mental health problems among workers. On the other hand, they can play an important part in helping to detect and manage mental health problems when they arise among workers, and in ensuring the healthy recovery and return of workers who are off work due to a mental health issue. IWH research in this area helps paint a clearer picture of the prevalence of mental health problems among workers, the types of labour force and workplace factors that may contribute to poor mental health, and the workplace-based and system prevention efforts that can help improve the mental health of workers and ensure they have the proper supports when needed.
Featured
IWH Speaker Series
Beyond employment rates: The long-term work experiences of Canadians with mental health conditions
Published: September 23, 2025
At Work article
Injured workers face mental health challenges beyond diagnosable conditions
Workers with a work-related physical injury that takes them off the job can have a wide range of mental health experiences, beyond diagnosable conditions. That’s according to an IWH study which also found that differences in injured workers’ mental health were linked to return-to-work outcomes.
Published: April 9, 2025
Research Highlights
Depression and work among adults with arthritis
About 13 per cent of working-age people in the U.S. who have arthritis also experience depressive symptoms. Having both arthritis and depressive symptoms lowers the likelihood of working. For people aged 35 to 54, having depressive symptoms in addition to arthritis lowers the likelihood of working by 17 per cent.
Published: October 2020
IWH in the media
Health-care workers lacking PPE suffer from more anxiety and depression
While personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection control procedures are often discussed as measures to reduce virus transmission, we also need to understand their importance in the context of mental health, especially since the mental health impacts of COVID-19 may linger beyond the pandemic, writes IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Smith in The Conversation.
Published: The Conversation, September 2020
IWH in the media
COVID precautions protect workers' physical and mental health, study
Canadian health-care workers say they lacked adequate COVID-19 precautions during the pandemic’s first wave and new research finds this also contributes to poorer mental health. Workers Health & Safety Centre shares findings from a study by IWH and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW), published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.
Published: Workers Health & Safety Centre, September 2020
IWH in the media
Patients with arthritis, depression more likely to be unemployed
Depression symptoms are associated with unemployment among working-age adults with arthritis, with middle-aged adults most affected. Jason Laday reports on a study published by Dr. Arif Jetha in Arthritis Care & Research.
Published: Healio, September 2020
Research Highlights
Employer perspectives on communication challenges when supporting episodic disabilities
Supporting people with episodic health conditions can be challenging from organizational perspectives. The challenges stem from the need to provide accommodation and support while respecting workers’ right to privacy, and to respond to unpredictable periods of disability while ensuring work units meet productivity demands.
Published: September 2020
IWH in the media
Greater focus on episodic disabilities needed: Study
Disability management must adapt and create a new model to reflect the impact of episodic disabilities among employees, writes John Dujay on a study led by Dr. Monique Gignac, scientific co-director and senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health.
Published: Canadian HR Reporter, August 2020
At Work article
Workplaces face many complex challenges when managing episodic disabilities: study
Employers are recognizing that they need a new model of disability management to support workers with episodic health conditions, according to a new IWH study. These conditions can raise a host of issues for workplaces, including issues of trust, stigma and privacy.
Published: August 2020
IWH in the media
Too many injured workers not seeking mental health supports
Why aren’t people getting the help they need? That’s a question raised by a recent study by the Institute for Work & Health, which found a substantial proportion of workers with compensation claims for a work-related musculoskeletal injury also experience a serious mental condition.
Published: Canadian HR Reporter, July 2020
IWH in the media
Lack of PPE related to healthcare workers’ anxiety, depression: report
Sixty per cent of health-care workers in Canada reported anxiety at levels surpassing an accepted threshold for clinical screening for the condition. This is most prevalent among those whose needs for personal protective equipment have not been met, Jim Wilson reports on a study by Institute for Work & Health and the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers.
Published: Canadian Occupational Safety, June 2020
IWH in the media
COVID-19: One more reason to take mental health seriously
Many who work in the construction industry have direct experience of how important it is to support and understand mental health. Fortunately, the industry has recognized this problem and is working on solutions, writes Milwaukee consultant Bruce Morton in a column that cites Institute for Work & Health research on levels of depression following a work injury.
Published: The Daily Reporter, April 2020