Work and Health Research Lab

Sick leave and social distancing in the age of precarious employment

Sick leave and social distancing in the age of precarious employment

In recent decades, Canada and other advanced economies have undergone a significant shift toward insecure, precarious employment. The income insecurity of precarious employment (e.g. fear of job loss, non-renewal of contracts) means these workers are less able and willing to report illness and take sick leave. As such, COVID-19 recommendations to stay home sick may not be received and actioned by low-wage front-line workers, including grocery store cashiers, food delivery gig workers, and other service industry workers. This this research will uncover how individuals in precarious employment understand and weigh choices and navigate recommendations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Our goal for this IRSST-funded Ontario-Quebec comparative study is to identify viable conditions for preventing COVID-19 transmission in precarious work environments by developing strategies to address the unique circumstances of this population.

Ontario research team: Ellen MacEachen, Shannon Majowicz, Samantha Meyer with Steve Durant, Joyceline Amoako, Megan Crouch, Yamin Jahangir, Pamela Hopwood, and Antonela Ilac.

Quebec research team: Daniel Cote, Marie Laberge, Jessica Dube with Ai-Thuy Huynh.

Publications 

Côté, D., Leon, A., Huynh, A-T, Dubé, J., MacEachen, E. (COLL), Laberge, M., Meyer, S., Majowicz, S., Hopwood, P.; Crouch, M.; Amoako, J.; Jahangir, Y., (2025) Tackling paradoxes and double binds for a healthier workplace: insights from the early COVID-19 responses in Quebec and Ontario. Humans.  https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9461/5/2/12

Hopwood, P., MacEachen, E. (SRA), Cote, D., Meyer, S., Majowicz, S., Huynh, A., Amoako, J., Crouch, M., Ilic, A., Jahangir, J., Leon, A., (2024). Occupational pressures of frontline workers enforcing COVID-19 pandemic measures in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Work. 79 (2), 661-672.

Côté, D., Durant, S., Majowicz, S., Meyer, S., Huynh, A.-T., Laberge, M., & Dubé, J. (2021). A rapid scoping review of COVID-19 and vulnerable workers: Intersecting occupational and public health issues. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 64(7), 551-566. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23256