Workplace wellness and health promotion

The majority of working-aged people spend most of their waking hours at work. IWH research examines the impact of the work environment on worker health and wellbeing, as well as the effectiveness of workplace health and wellness promotion initiatives on workers’ physical activity and other health behaviours.

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IWH Speaker Series

Engaging employees in wellness: Insights from workplace champions

Published: October 21, 2025
A group of office workers stand in rows, doing stretches
Research Highlights

Understanding the types of Ontario workplaces that offer both wellness and OHS programs

Most Ontario workplaces offer few wellness initiatives. The ones that offer a variety of wellness initiatives and have high-performing OHS programs tend to be large workplaces with people-oriented cultures.
Published: June 2019
Journal article
NSC Safety + Health
IWH in the media

Sitting or standing too much at work? New video addresses ways to lower associated health risks

Sitting or standing for prolonged periods may adversely affect workers’ health, according to several recent studies. So, what should workers do? In a video titled Sitting or standing? Which is best?, two IWH researchers behind the studies answer that question to help clarify their recent research.
Published: Safety + Health, December 2018
Video
Video

Sitting or standing? Which is best?

If you’re confused by seemingly duelling headlines about the negative health effects of prolonged sitting and prolonged standing, this video may help clear things up. Two of the scientists behind these headlines work at the Institute for Work & Health, so we put them before the camera, side by side, to sort out the take-away message.
Published: November 2018
Man in red shirt jogs in a park adjacent to an office building
Research Highlights

Facilities near or at work and off-hours exercise levels

Three in four working Canadians have access near or at their work to a gym, a sports field, a pleasant place to walk, a fitness program, an organized sports team, a health promotion program or a shower/change room. Leisure-time exercise levels are highest for workers with access to all the above. They are twice as likely to exercise in their off-hours as workers with access to none of these.
Published: August 2018
Man in red shirt jogs in a park adjacent to an office building
At Work article

Workplace facilities and environments can help workers exercise during off-hours

Three in four Canadians have access to parks, gyms, shower rooms or other facilities near or at their work. Do these facilities encourage them to exercise more during their off-time? A new study says yes.
Published: April 2018
Journal article
Journal article

Is promoting six hours of standing an appropriate public health message?

Published: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, March 2018
Journal article