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

A parents walks their two children wearing backpacks towards a shool.
At Work article

Parental job quality linked to children’s mental health, school performance

Children whose parents work low-quality, precarious jobs are more likely to experience mental health problems and perform poorly at school. That’s according to a pair of studies, co-led by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), that drew on two large-scale Canadian surveys.
Published: September 10, 2025
A woman working at a laptop looks out the window with her head resting on her hand
At Work article

Workplace supports buffer productivity impacts of rheumatic diseases and depression

Young adults who live with both a rheumatic disease and depression have lower productivity than those who have only one or neither condition. That’s according to a new IWH study. Findings from this small study also suggest that having a supportive working environment can buffer the lost productivity issues.
Published: October 2024
A man works at a computer in an dark, empty office late at night, with his head in his hand
Research Highlights

Working unpaid overtime linked with high stress and burnout: IWH study

Building on research linking overtime work to depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns, an IWH study investigated how working unpaid overtime is associated with mental health in Canada’s working population. They found that that the more unpaid overtime hours worked, the more likely a worker is to report stress and burnout.
Published: June 2024
Journal article
Journal article

Unpaid overtime and mental health in the Canadian working population

Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, June 2024
Journal article
Journal article

The working life expectancy of American adults experiencing depression

Published: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, January 2024
Journal article
Journal article

Return-to-work experiences in Ontario policing: injured but not broken

Published: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, January 2024
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

The working life expectancy of Americans experiencing depression

Understanding the impact of depression on employment is critical to informing welfare, health, and social services policy. In this presentation, Dr. Kathleen Dobson discusses research on working life expectancy—that is, the number of years an individual can expect to work before permanently leaving the labour force. Dobson talks about the importance of working life expectancy, and shares novel findings from the U.S. about how different courses of depression throughout individuals’ working years impact their working life expectancy from age 30 to 60.
Published: November 2023