November 2019

New infographic highlights pre-legalization use of, and beliefs about, cannabis at work

Among workers reporting cannabis use in the past year, about one in five indicated they used it in the two hours before work, during work or during work breaks. This is one of the findings from an Institute for Work & Health (IWH) cross-Canada survey conducted in June 2018, four months before non-medical cannabis was legalized. An IWH research team is surveying this same group of workers (and more) for three years post-legalization to track how their use of, and beliefs about, cannabis at work are changing. For a snapshot of the findings about pre-legalization consumption habits and attitudes among Canadian workers, take a look at our new infographic.

Download the infographic

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, summarized in a new At Work article.

Read the article

IWH Speaker Series: Calculating the societal costs of occupational illnesses and injuries

What’s the total cost to society of work-related illnesses and injuries? Having an economic burden estimate can help policy-makers and other stakeholders in occupational health and safety (OHS) set priorities and track progress. But such calculations are complex and rarely carried out at a country level. IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Emile Tompa recently led a team to do just that in five European Union countries. In an IWH Speaker Series presentation on November 12, he shares findings—and the methods that can be used to do this analysis elsewhere.

Sign up to attend in person or online

Less than a year until World Congress 2020

The XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work is less than a year away. As Canadian co-hosts, we’re looking forward to welcoming thought-leaders from across Canada and around the world to the largest global forum on the protection of workers, taking place October 4-7, 2020, in Toronto. Share your innovations and successes by submitting a presentation proposal. Enter your award-worthy prevention websites or videos in the concurrent International Media Festival for Prevention. Be the first to find out about keynote speakers by subscribing for updates. And watch and share the video invitations from the heads of the conference organizers, including IWH President Dr. Cam Mustard.

Go to the World Congress 2020 website

IWH among organizations around the globe honoured with Korn Ferry engagement award

The Institute has been honoured with a 2019 Korn Ferry Engaged Performance Award. The award recognizes 71 organizations from around the world that scored high in two categories—engagement and enablement—as measured by their recent employee surveys administered by the consulting firm. Winning organizations are chosen based on employee responses to four statements: “I feel proud to work for the company,” “I would recommend the company as a good place to work,” “My job makes good use of my skills and abilities” and “Conditions in my job allow me to be as productive as I can be.”

Find out more

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.

Get details from the CRWDP website

CRE-MSD releases Quick Start guide to help office workers prevent MSDs

Today’s office work can be done on computers in homes, warehouses, restaurants and automobiles—not just in cubicles and offices. The Quick Start Guide: Office provides workplace fixes to help office workers prevent musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risks to the back, neck and shoulders. This Quick Start Guide, released last month by the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD), is part of Ontario’s new MSD Prevention Guideline.

See the Quick Start Guide: Office

Uyen Vu
Communications Associate
613-979-7742
uvu@iwh.on.ca