What's new

What will work look like in 2030 for young adults living with disability? Using established strategic foresight methods, an IWH team generated three future scenarios. The scenarios are designed to provoke discussions in Canada about the policies and programs needed now to ensure inclusive work in the future for persons with disabilities.

The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) has released its 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, which outlines four strategic directions that will guide the Institute in producing and sharing work and health evidence. This plan is the result of a year-long process that engaged stakeholders, members of the IWH Board of Directors and staff to take stock of IWH’s strengths and identify opportunities and priorities for the next five-year period.

Persons with disabilities are not only less likely than those without disabilities to find work. When they do, they are also twice as likely to find themselves in insecure, unrewarding jobs. This was a key finding from a recent IWH study that used a national survey to investigate what kinds of jobs persons with disabilities obtain compared to those without disabilities.

Every year, on April 28, we mark National Day of Mourning to remember those who have died or suffered health consequences due to work hazards. On this day, especially, we renew our efforts to make work safe and healthy for all.

On Thursday, May 18, the Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA) social innovation laboratory is hosting a launch event. This partnered, knowledge-to-practice initiative is focused on building employers’ capacity to hire, promote and retain persons with disabilities, and to create accessible and inclusive workplaces.

Calling early-career researchers at the master’s or doctoral level intending to study work and health: apply now for a 2023-2024 S. Leonard Syme Research Training Award. Three training awards of $5,000 each are available. The deadline for applications is Friday, May 5, 2023.

The IWH-led Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities partnership has officially launched the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT) for workers. The evidence-based tool is designed to help workers with chronic conditions identify job supports that they can implement — on their own or with their supervisor’s approval — that allow them to keep working safely and productively without having to disclose their health condition.

An IWH research team has examined how working life could change in Canada over the next seven years and what the implications might be for young adults with a disability. Using strategic foresight methods, the team created three future scenarios that are designed to provoke discussion about the policies needed now to ensure an inclusive future for people with disabilities.

An evidence-based tool from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) helps workers with chronic conditions learn about customized job supports and modifications that can help them continue to work safely, comfortably and productively. On March 21 at an IWH Speaker Series webinar, Senior Scientist Dr. Monique Gignac unveils the new Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT) developed by the Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED) partnership. She describes the tool, how it works and the studies conducted to back it up.

In the issue, read about: 

• A new research program on AI, work and health
• IWH's OHS Vulnerability Measure's high ranking in a study of leading indicators
• The inclusion of the 'Seven Principles' in Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba's updated return-to-work workshop 

And more...