Events

Other events

Opioids and Work: Evidence, Perspectives and Looking Ahead

This full-day workshop convenes work and health researchers, policy-makers (in health, labour and workers’ compensation), workers, employers and public health professionals. Hosted by the Institute for Work & Health and the Occupational Cancer Research Centre, this workshop aims to: share evidence on what is known about opioid-related harms among workers, hear diverse perspectives on the underlying contributors to the problem, work together to identify what workplace parties can do to be part of the solution, and determine what information is still needed to be able to fully understand and tackle the issue. 

IWH Speaker Series

Understanding OHS motivations and needs in small businesses

Basak Yanar, Institute for Work & Health; Cameron Mustard, Institute for Work & Health

Small businesses bear a disproportionate share of serious work-related injuries and fatalities. They also experience challenges in implementing occupational health and safety (OHS) practices due to limited OHS resources and expertise. In this presentation, Dr. Basak Yanar and Dr. Cameron Mustard share findings from a study that interviewed small businesses enrolled in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)'s Health and Safety Excellence program. The presenters discuss small businesses’ motivations for participating in the program, their OHS needs and challenges, and their perceptions of the support they received as part of the program.

IWH Speaker Series

Is precarious employment an occupational hazard?

Faraz Vahid Shahidi, Institute for Work & Health

Precarious employment has become more common in the Canadian labour market, as well as in the labour markets of other high-income countries. In this presentation, Dr. Faraz Vahid Shahidi examines the consequences of precarious employment for health and safety at work. Drawing on compensation claims data from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and labour force estimates from Statistics Canada, Dr. Shahidi asks whether workers exposed to precarious employment – such as temporary, part-time, and low-wage jobs – are more likely to experience an occupational injury or illness. As a further source of evidence, he also assesses the impact of precarious employment on the workplace transmission of COVID-19.