Occupational Health and Safety in Ontario Workplaces

Workplace and Employee Health

There is a widespread relationship between work and health that is seemingly imperceptible to many. The duties we perform, the settings in which we work, and the various aspects of labor market experience and health services delivery all have a major impact on the work-health relationship of individuals. This is a crucial issue, as work constitutes a major portion of our lives. The majority of us will devote nearly 40 years or more to individual work environments — five days a week, eight hours daily — which translates to nearly a third of our lives spent on the job. Although the nature of work has changed remarkably over the last half-century, the present-day workplace has given rise to new forms of morbidity and disability. Current research findings reveal that one in five claims for lost time involves work-associated repetitive stress injuries. (Building Healthier Workplaces: Institute for Work & Health Annual Report 2001)

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are the leading cause of disability in the workplace in North America. Roughly 85% of the working population will experience back pain at some stage of their working life. These new realities of the workplace create special challenges for prevention, detection, medical treatment, and compensation. The costs — both direct and indirect — of workplace injury and illness are rising. In 2000, $5.7 billion in workers' compensation benefits were paid across Canada to cover injured workers' healthcare treatment and rehabilitation, with more than $2.3 billion of that total allocated to Ontario alone. Motivating people to return to work following injury can be as challenging as detecting WMSDs in the first place. Recent policy changes in Ontario have transferred the responsibility for primary and secondary disability prevention to workplaces. Research at the Institute for Work and Health — an independent, philanthropic research organization working to minimize illness and disability in Ontario's working population — investigates the effects of these changes and evaluates which factors best support injured workers' return to work. (Building Healthier Workplaces: Institute for Work & Health Annual Report 2001)

According to Scientist Dr. Renée-Louise Franche, a core area of the Institute's research is the role of work accommodation for injured employees. The Institute recognizes that work accommodation can play a vital role in helping workers resume employment after injury in the most efficient manner. The way in which work is organized — at the individual, job, department, and corporate levels — can profoundly affect a person's health. A range of risk factors, from physical and ergonomic concerns such as workstation positioning to organizational factors such as employee recognition and job control, contribute to work-associated health problems including WMSDs. Work organization has been a consistent research theme at the Institute for Work & Health. Previous research conducted with General Motors Canada, and ongoing studies with the Toronto Star, have established the groundwork for a series of studies examining how work organization shapes biomechanical and psychological work exposures. The Employee Survey of Working Environment — a web-based survey — is credited as the first online tool developed by the Institute and is designed to help organizations identify stress-related issues in their workplaces relative to Canadian norms. (Building Healthier Workplaces: Institute for Work & Health Annual Report 2001)

Among the various projects in progress, a particularly significant undertaking is an extensive survey of WMSDs in Ontario. A series of studies under this initiative will document WMSDs and the variations in injury and functional recovery across different regions, ranked by provider type and severity of interaction, as well as variations across genders, industries, and professions. Numerous societal-level forces influence working lives and individual health outcomes. (Building Healthier Workplaces: Institute for Work & Health Annual Report 2001)

Within the research theme of labor market experience and health, researchers are evaluating the association between upstream labor market factors — such as unemployment, occupational hierarchy rank, income inequality, and the type of work — and their effects on individual health. Research led by Scientist Director Dr. Cameron Mustard examined how position in the occupational hierarchy may function as a determinant of health status. Studies found that employees in the lowest organizational ranks faced a heightened risk of declining health status. In the case of men, this risk was partly explained by workplace organizational factors and participation in health-risk behaviors. (Building Healthier Workplaces: Institute for Work & Health Annual Report 2001)