Research Projects
The WorkHealthLab maintains several of the most significant longitudinal and cross-sectional datasets on the modern workforce, providing an empirical bridge between social structure and individual well-being.
Program History
Survey Timeline
C-QWELS
Canadian Quality of Work and Economic Life Study
The Canadian Quality of Work and Economic Life Study is an ongoing project tracking pandemic-era work transitions, social trust, and economic sentiments. It provides critical data on how the quality of working life has evolved through one of the most significant periods of economic and social disruption in modern history.
Methodology
Longitudinal Survey
Sample Scope
Nationally Representative (Canada)
Key Research Focal Points
- Initiated in September 2019 (immediately pre-pandemic).
- Continuous follow-up waves through 2025/2026.
- Captures the shift to remote work, role blurring, and the 'loyalty deficit'.
- Focuses on social estrangement and psychological distress during the COVID-19 era.
MESSI
Measuring Employment Sentiment and Social Inequality
The MESSI project investigates how workers perceive their own employment quality compared to their views on the broader labor market and social inequality. By analyzing these subjective sentiments, it explores 'perception glitches'—where individual satisfaction diverges from societal narratives—and their impact on worker well-being, turnover intentions, and social trust.
Methodology
Sentiment Analysis Survey
Sample Scope
5,000+ American Workers
Key Research Focal Points
- Utilizes nationally representative samples of American workers.
- Examines the relationship between subjective employment sentiments and views on social inequality.
- Measures turnover intentions independent of individual job quality.
- Investigates the health and psychological impacts of workplace structure, such as surveillance.
A-QWELS
American Quality of Work and Economic Life Study
The American counterpart to C-QWELS, this study tracks the long-term effects of work quality on the health and economic well-being of the United States workforce. It complements the Canadian data to provide a cross-border perspective on structural work transformations.
Methodology
Nationally Representative Survey
Sample Scope
U.S. Workforce
Key Research Focal Points
- Baseline wave of 4,024 workers in 2020.
- Follow-up waves tracking retention and career movement.
- Focuses on status dynamics and the flexibility paradox.
- Examines the long-term career trade-offs associated with adaptive work strategies.
CAN-WSH
Canadian Work, Stress, and Health Study
A flagship decade-long study of the Canadian workforce. CAN-WSH established the foundational link between job demands, family-to-work conflict, and mental health outcomes. It is one of the most cited datasets for studying the work-family interface in Canada.
Methodology
Longitudinal Panel
Sample Scope
6,000 Canadians
Key Research Focal Points
- Five waves of high-quality longitudinal data.
- Detailed metrics on schedule control and job authority.
- Analyzes the 'morning rush' and parenting inequality.
- Includes bio-markers and detailed health indicators in earlier waves.
US-WSH
United States Work, Stress, and Health
An essential study that examined the early 21st-century effects of workplace conflict and job insecurity. It provided the baseline for understanding how religious resources and divine control beliefs buffer psychological distress during economic recessions.
Methodology
Baseline Panel Study
Sample Scope
1,800 American Adults
Key Research Focal Points
- Captured the eve of the Great Recession (2007).
- Pioneered research on after-hours work contact and guilt.
- Analyzes how job authority can suppress positive health effects through conflict.
- Studied the protective functions of job security and stability.
QES-UP
Quality of Employment Survey — Updated
The QES-UP fielded new cross-sectional surveys in 2022/2023 modeled on the original 1972/1977 Quality of Employment Surveys to examine how the quality of employment has changed. It measures shifts in job satisfaction, the psychological centrality of work, and self-understanding among American workers.
Methodology
Cross-Sectional Replication
Sample Scope
Nationally Representative
Key Research Focal Points
- Updates the original QES 1972/1977 instruments to a modern labor market context.
- Analyzes the resilient nature of work as a pillar of identity.
- Examines the 'Myth of the Unhappy Worker'.
- Bridges historical labor sociology with contemporary platform-economy questions.