Work precarity and vulnerability
“Precarious” is a word often used to describe work that is characterized by low pay, low job security and little protection. “Vulnerable” is a word often used in the health and safety world to describe those who are at an increased risk of work injury or disease. At the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), an evidence-based framework has been developed that defines OHS vulnerability as being exposed to hazards without having adequate protection. This page pulls together research on OHS vulnerability and work precarity.
Featured
Research Highlights
Fatal drug overdoses more common among lower-income and unemployed Canadians
A new IWH study looked at how sociodemographic factors measured by the Canadian census were linked with drug overdose deaths.
Published: March 11, 2026
Research Highlights
Death rates are higher for workers in precarious and lower quality jobs
Death rates are higher for workers in lower-quality jobs. That’s according to an IWH study that explored whether job quality was linked to rates of death.
Published: November 12, 2025
Journal article
Journal article
On-demand and marketplace platforms: gig care work conditions on two digital labour platform care models
Published: Critical Sociology, September 2024
Journal article
Journal article
Precarious employment and the workplace transmission of COVID-19: evidence from workers' compensation claims in Ontario, Canada
Published: Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, August 2024
Journal article
Journal article
Is precarious employment an occupational hazard? Evidence from Ontario, Canada
Published: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, August 2024
Journal article
Journal article
The health and safety experiences of precariously employed Bangladeshi immigrant workers in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published: New Solutions, May 2024
Journal article
Journal article
"…full of opportunities, but not for everyone": a narrative inquiry into mechanisms of labor market inequity among precariously employed gay, bisexual, and queer men
Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, April 2024
Project
Project
Job quality and wellbeing in Canada: generating insights on the new world of work
Amid shifting labour market conditions in Canada, including the rise of precarious employment and of low quality jobs, this project will describe the current landscape of job quality in Canada and examine the relationship between job quality and wellbeing.
Status: Ongoing
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
Is precarious employment an occupational hazard?
Precarious employment has become more common in the Canadian labour market, as well as in the labour markets of other high-income countries. In this presentation, Dr. Faraz Vahid Shahidi examines the consequences of precarious employment for health and safety at work. Drawing on compensation claims data from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and labour force estimates from Statistics Canada, Dr. Shahidi asks whether workers exposed to precarious employment – such as temporary, part-time, and low-wage jobs – are more likely to experience an occupational injury or illness. As a further source of evidence, he also assesses the impact of precarious employment on the workplace transmission of COVID-19.
Published: February 2024
At Work article
Lesbian, gay and bisexual workers in Canada more likely than straight workers to report low quality, precarious jobs
Drawing on a survey of Canadian workers, a recent study found that lesbian, gay and bisexual workers reported lower job quality than their straight counterparts. That’s according to a study co-led by an IWH researcher and IWH Syme award recipient, the most comprehensive study to date of job quality among sexual minority workers.
Published: January 2024
Journal article
Journal article
Job quality and precarious employment among lesbian, gay, and bisexual workers: a national study
Published: SSM - Population Health, December 2023
At Work article
IWH tool comes out ahead in Australian study of OHS leading indicator tools
In an Australian study of five health and safety leading indicator tools around the world, a measure developed by IWH has come out ahead for its ability to pick up workers’ risk of reporting a physical injury or a near miss at work.
Published: February 2023