Work precarity and vulnerability

The term “vulnerable workers” is used increasingly in occupational health and safety (OHS) to describe those at greater risk of injury. Research at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) has recently explored whether worker or workplace factors are linked to worker vulnerability. The result is a new 29-item questionnaire that measures the extent to which workers are at increased risk of work-related injury and illness and conceives vulnerability as a function of four distinct dimensions.

Published: OOHNA Journal , October 2015

Published: Accident Analysis and Prevention, June 2015

29-item survey gauges vulnerability via workplace hazards, policies, procedures and worker awareness.

Published: April 2015

The term "vulnerability" is used increasingly in occupational health and safety (OHS) in Ontario. Although certain groups in the labour market (e.g. younger workers, temporary workers or immigrants) are often labelled as “vulnerable workers,” there is very little discussion about what the broader workplace and occupational factors are that lead to increased risk of injury among these groups, and whether these risk factors are similar across the groups. In this plenary, Dr. Peter Smith, a scientist at the Institute for Work & Health, provides an overview of the conceptual framework of OHS vulnerability. He also shares preliminary findings from a survey capturing different dimensions of OHS vulnerability across a sample of workers in Ontario and British Columbia.

Published: January 2015

IWH researchers looked for a better way to measure occupational health and safety (OHS) vulnerability among workers, one that moves beyond the demographic characteristics of workers to look at the factors in their workplaces that put them at increased risk of injury and illness.

Status: Completed 2016

Work insecurity and unemployment can have a negative effect on the physical and mental health of workers. This is according to new research and analysis from the Institute for Work & Health.

Published: October 2009

Researchers have been looking at how unemployment affects mental health since the Great Depression of the 1930s, if not earlier. This body of research has shown that becoming unemployed has a negative impact on mental health. Also, people with mental health problems are more likely than others to become unemployed. This Issue Briefing summarizes the key research behind these findings and explores the implications for policy-makers and health and safety service providers.

Published: August 2009

In terms of injury risk, the type of job or workplace matters more than the nature of the young workers themselves.

Published: April 2006

Dr. Emile Tompa talks about how precarious employment can affect workers' health and well-being

Published: February 2006