Work and health within broader societal context
Work has a role to play in producing and maintaining inequalities in population health. But broader conditions outside work—such as economic conditions, housing affordability and access to childcare—can impact employment quality and worker health and safety. Similarly, social and income support systems can shape the experiences of workers facing a job interruption, and accessibility legislation can impact employment opportunities for persons living with disabilities. Our research explores how workers and workplaces are affected by changes to labour, social and health laws and policies, as well as by macro economic and societal conditions.
Latest findings
Death rates are higher for workers in precarious and lower quality jobs
Death rates are higher for workers in lower-quality jobs. That’s according to an IWH study that explored whether job quality was linked to rates of death.
Parental job quality linked to children’s mental health, school performance
Children whose parents work low-quality, precarious jobs are more likely to experience mental health problems and perform poorly at school. That’s according to a pair of studies, co-led by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), that drew on two large-scale Canadian surveys.In the first systematic review on racial and ethnic inequities in return to work, IWH found strong evidence that non-white workers are less likely than white workers to return to work following an injury or illness—and moderate evidence that Black workers face pronounced barriers.
