Return to work, accommodation and support

IWH has a long history of conducting research on practices, policies and processes that help workers sustainably return to work after an illness or an injury. This page pulls together IWH research and resources on employer supports, job accommodations and modifications, as well as other related issues such as disclosure of disability.

A woman smiles sympathetically at a colleague in an office
Research Highlights

Workers’ and managers’ perspectives on workplace supports for depression

In a survey of workers with depression and those who manage them, nearly one out of four said no supports were available. Asked about the most helpful type of support, survey respondents with lived experience of depression most often indicated employee assistance programs (EAPs) and other supports external to the workplace. As for barriers to implementing practices, participants noted unsupportive managers, lack of knowledge about mental health in the workplace, and lack of training for managers.
Published: January 2022
Long shadows cast by a row of workers
At Work article

Study probes factors behind poorer health, lower employment in injured workers’ post-claim experience

What are the work and health outcomes of injured workers after they no longer receive workers' compensation benefits or services? A study at IWH sets out to explore this little understood aspect of the post-injury experience.
Published: November 2021
Project
Project

Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA): A social innovation lab to increase demand-side capacity to employ persons with disabilities in Canada

This large, national project includes many research team members, collaborators and partners—all taking an innovative approach to increasing the sustainable employment of people with disabilities in Canada by building disability confidence and accommodation capacity among employers
Status: Ongoing
Canadian Occupational Safety logo
IWH in the media

How workplaces can support staff with MS

Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple scleroris and employers need to do more to accommodate, according to Julie Kelndorfer of MS Society of Canada. Maia Foulis interviews her about what workplaces can do to be safe and welcoming to people with the condition, and why the society is a partner on an Institute for Work & Health research project on communicating about episodic disability.
Published: Canadian Occupational Safety, September 2021
Journal article
Journal article

Cohort profile: the Ontario Life After Workplace Injury Study (OLAWIS)

Published: BMJ Open, September 2021
Canadian HR Reporter logo
IWH in the media

Lack of support at work makes COVID worse for people with disabilities

The coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected plenty of employees. But for those with physical or mental health challenges, a lack of support on the job has exacerbated the issues. John Dujay reports on a study conducted by Dr. Monique Gignac of the Institute for Work and Health (IWH).
Published: Canadian HR Reporter, August 2021
A masked worker riding a bus
At Work article

COVID worries highest among workers with both physical, mental health disabilities

People with both physical and mental health disabilities were the most concerned about their work, health and finances during the early part of the pandemic.
Published: July 2021
Project
Project

Ontario Life After Work Injury Study: Understanding the long-term recovery and labour market outcomes of injured workers in the shadow of COVID-19

Building on IWH's original Ontario Life After Work Injury Study (OLAWIS), IWH is looking in particular at the long-term outcomes of people who were recovering and returning to work during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Status: Completed