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Workplace disability management
More and more Canadian workplaces are setting up accommodation and return-to-work (RTW) programs to help ensure employees with work-related and non-work-related injuries and illnesses are able to remain at work or return to work as quickly as they are safely able to do so. The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) conducts extensive research into the workplace policies and procedures that most effectively help workers safely remain at and return to work, as well as system-level programs (e.g. those offered by workers’ compensation boards) that support workplaces in doing so. This research also explores life-course issues, work disability trajectories, RTW prognostic factors, and the scope and impact of chronic, episodic and other conditions that are not necessarily caused by work, but affect the ability of people to find and keep work.
Latest news and findings
Comparing employment patterns of older workers in four countries
In many developed countries, including Canada, encouraging older workers to stay in the workforce is a common policy goal. But what do we know about current work participation patterns among people aged 65 to 75? A new study involving IWH looks at data in Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden.
Read about the study
Claimants’ perceptions of fair treatment linked to lower odds of mental illness
Previous studies have suggested that the process of making a workers’ compensation claim is linked with poorer mental health. A new study by IWH examines the contribution of one aspect of the process: the interactions between injured workers and case managers. As summed up in At Work, the findings of this study drive home the importance of treating claimants respectfully and giving them the information they need.
Read in the Fall 2019 issue of At Work
IWH’s Dr. Monique Gignac recognized for arthritis-related research service work
Congratulations to IWH Senior Scientist and Scientific Co-Director Dr. Monique Gignac. In early November, the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Professions (ARP) named her a recipient of one of its 2019 service awards. The ARP Addie Thomas award recognizes an association member who has been an active volunteer involved with local, regional, national and/or international arthritis-related activities.
Find out about the award
Proposed new CSA standard on work disability management now open for feedback
Currently, no national or international standard is available to help Canadian employers achieve excellence in their work disability management systems. A research team, which includes IWH Senior Scientist and Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP) Director Dr. Emile Tompa, has been working with the CSA Group to change that. A new proposed standard on work disability prevention management systems—the CSA Z1011 standard—is now available for public review and comment. The deadline for feedback is December 8.
Find out more at the CRWDP website
Supervisors and case managers report more RTW communication bottlenecks: study
Disability management depends on good communication. In large and complex organizations, communication breakdowns about return to work (RTW) tend to concentrate around two key roles: front-line supervisors and case managers. That’s according to an IWH study of communication bottlenecks in disability management.
See the findings
