Job accommodation

Job accommodations, through modifications or adjustments to job processes, work environments and/or work schedules, are a key component of stay-at-work and return-to-work programs that are designed to ensure workers with work- or non-work-related injuries or illnesses (physical or mental) are able to sustain their employment. IWH conducts a wide range of research in this area, exploring barriers and facilitators to successful job accommodation, as well as disclosure of disability and other complex issues surrounding the accommodation of injured or ill workers. 

Featured

A police officer with their back turned faces a group of people walking around.
At Work article

Police service members face challenges with accommodation, communication and trust when returning to work after an injury

A recent IWH study examined the experiences of sworn and civilian Ontario police service members returning to their jobs after experiencing an injury or illness. It found their RTW challenges revolved around five main themes.
Published: September 18, 2023
Row of diverse persons with disabilities
At Work article

How government funding can best support the employment of persons with disabilities

What kind of government funding best encourages employers to hire and retain persons with disabilities? A research team at the Institute for Work & Health recently explored this question.
Published: May 4, 2022
Journal article
Journal article

Transitions that matter: life course differences in the employment of adults with arthritis

Published: Disability and Rehabilitation, January 2018
Journal article
Project
Project

Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED): A partnership to deliver workplace resources to sustain employment of people with chronic, episodic conditions

A multi-partner research team led by IWH is seeking to develop evidence-informed resources to facilitate communication and accommodation planning among workers with episodic mental and physical health conditions, supervisors and other workplace parties.
Status: Ongoing
Project
Project

Conceal or reveal? Facilitators and barriers to older workers' communication of accommodation needs

Little is known about how older workers make decisions about whether or not to communicate their job accommodation needs and, if so, to whom, when and how. An IWH study is exploring the barriers and facilitators to the communication of baby boomers’ workplace accommodation needs.
Status: Ongoing
Ontario Occupational Health Nurses Association logo
IWH in the media

Returning to work after a mental health work injury

Much of what we know about the factors linked with successful return to work is based on musculoskeletal injury claims. When it comes to reintegrating workers after a psychological injury, practitioners still face considerable challenges, according to Institute for Work & Health research.
Published: OOHNA Journal, November 2016
Project
Project

Effectiveness of workplace-based return-to-work programs: a systematic review update

IN 2004, IWH conducted its first systematic review of the literature on the effectiveness of workplace-based interventions, which in turn led to the popular Seven ‘Principles’ of Effective Return to Work. The Institute updated this review to see what new evidence may be available on workplace-based interventions.
Status: Completed 2017
Video
Video

Supporting workers with arthritis through job accommodations

A study about workplace supports for people with arthritis suggests that many affected workers don’t feel they need frequent help. The study, conducted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), also finds that people who can access the workplace supports often report better outcomes at work. That can mean less job disruption, greater ability to concentrate on tasks and fewer changes to work hours.
Published: September 2015
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

Systematic review of the quantitative literature on RTW interventions

In 2004, the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) published a mixed-method systematic review on workplace‐based return‐to‐work (RTW) interventions. Recently, IWH and the Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR) in Australia worked together to update and expand this review to include system-level or jurisdictional interventions and mental illness. In this plenary, IWH's Emma Irvin and Kim Cullen discuss the latest findings and what they mean to the practice of evidence-based return to work.
Published: March 2015