Workplace wellness and health promotion
The majority of working-aged people spend most of their waking hours at work. IWH research examines the impact of the work environment on worker health and wellbeing, as well as the effectiveness of workplace health and wellness promotion initiatives on workers’ physical activity and other health behaviours.
Featured
IWH Speaker Series
How the physical and social environment shape commuters' choices to bike or walk
Published: October 15, 2024
Impact case study
Moving research into practice in a program about movement
The Make Your Move at Work (MYMAW) program in Nova Scotia—informed by IWH research on workers' movement patterns—is designed to help employers support their employees in adding more movement to the workday.
Published: September 19, 2024
IWH in the media
Standing all day is twice as bad as sitting for your heart
On the circle of health hype, what was bad becomes good, then it becomes overrated, then it becomes bad again. That’s what happened to barefoot running and multivitamins, and it’s where the purported dangers of “too much sitting” seem to be headed. But the truth is probably somewhere in the middle rather than on the peaks or in the valleys. With that in mind, it’s worth looking at an interesting study just published in the American Journal of Epidemiology that finds jobs that require a lot of standing to be much worse for your health than jobs that require mostly sitting, writes Alex Hutchinson.
Published: Runner's World, August 2017
IWH in the media
Too much standing is bad, study finds — it's time to move
People who stand for long periods at work may have another reason to join their seated colleagues in moving more. "There's a good body of research evidence that shows standing a lot is actually bad for your health," said Peter Smith, a senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health.
Published: CBC, August 2017
Project
Project
Extended working life and its interaction with health, wellbeing and quality of life: a multi-country initiative (THRIVE)
Canada was one of four countries taking part in a multi-national study exploring policy approaches to extending the working lives of older people in a manner that is both effective and fair for all workers. IWH led the Canadian portion.
Status: Completed 2019
Project