Workplace wellness and health promotion

To help promote regular exercise among workers, workplaces must recognize that work conditions can sometimes be barriers to working out. IWH Associate Scientist Dr. Aviroop Biswas talks with NEWSTALK1010's Dave Trafford about employers can help workers make fitness part of their work day.

Published: The Weekend Morning Show with Dave Trafford, November 2021

We know regular exercise is really good for health, but many workers do not exercise as much as they should. Yes, workplaces can help promote fitness. However, workplaces also need to look beyond individual responsibility to get active, and address the job conditions that can get in the way, writes IWH's Dr. Avi Biswas in this op-ed piece.

Published: The Conversation, November 2021

Recent studies are suggesting physically demanding work can have negative effects on workers’ cardiovascular health. At a recent IWH Speaker Series presentation, Associate Scientist Dr. Avi Biswas discussed how workplaces and policy-makers can help.

Published: July 2021

Workers in sedentary jobs who meet physical activity guidelines of at least 150 minutes a week have a 37 per cent lower chance of developing diabetes over 15 years, compared to people in the same types of jobs but who do less exercise. Meeting physical activity guidelines is less beneficial for people whose jobs involve movement or high physical demands (such as lifting heavy loads).

Published: April 2021

Published: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, January 2021

Published: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, January 2021

Can machine learning be used to measure the movement patterns of workers at and outside of work? This IWH study aims to find out.

Status: Completed

Over a 12-year-period, Canadians whose jobs became more physically or mentally demanding became slightly less likely to exercise more. They were also slightly less likely to exercise more when working long hours or working in jobs that offered them little say in how to use their skills.

Published: April 2020

Workplace wellness programs that also emphasize occupational health and safety (OHS) activities can have greater benefits to the overall health and safety of workers than those that focus on OHS or individual behaviour change alone. When OHS and wellness efforts are coordinated and not in competition for organizational resources, they also benefit the broader organization. In this presentation, Dr. Avi Biswas draws on a recently concluded study to offer practical guidance to employers on integrating safety and wellness activities. He outlines findings of a review of existing research, cross-referenced with stakeholder insights, and highlights what matters most to workplaces when integrating safety and wellness initiatives.

Published: February 2020

Published: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, February 2020