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

IWH Speaker Series webinar explores persistent pain after work injury
How common is it for injured workers to continue experiencing pain after a work injury? In the next IWH Speaker Series, on November 15, Dr. Kathleen Dobson shares findings from a study conducted with workers’ compensation claimants in Ontario.
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Why older workers are reluctant to disclose their support needs
The aging of the working population may be a big factor behind the labour shortages being felt across the country, but if you ask older workers, many would say they’re in no hurry to retire. However, they do have support needs that they may not divulge. In a new study, Institute for Work & Health (IWH) Senior Scientist Dr. Monique Gignac explores the risks of disclosure older workers perceive, and suggests ways workplaces can support and retain these employees despite the communication barriers.
Read about the study
IWH Speaker Series webinar explores return-to-work challenges in policing
What challenges do members of police services face after a work injury? In an IWH Speaker Series on October 18, IWH Scientist Dr. Dwayne Van Eerd shares findings from a recent study on return to work in Ontario police services. He also highlights suggestions that emerged from the data on ways to improve the return-to-work process.
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Webinar now available: Supporting older workers to stay at work
Many older workers don't want to retire, but they may have support needs they don't want to disclose. How do employers provide these workers support and help them stay on the job? On September 20, at the first IWH Speaker Series webinar of the season, Senior Scientist Dr. Monique Gignac shared insights from a recent study. The webinar is now available to watch on-demand.
Watch the webinar
New initiative aims to ‘skill up’ employers on inclusion of persons with disabilities
Efforts to date to improve the employment of persons with disabilities have focused on making them job-ready. A new initiative, a joint project at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and McMaster University, now sets out to flip that approach on its head. It aims to “skill up” workplaces instead.
Read about the initiative