Interviews with 32 Canadian disability support providers reveal deepening tension over remote work, disclosure and formal accommodation processes
A new qualitative study from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) has found that fully remote work has become one of the most contested issues in Canadian workplace disability accommodation, with human resources staff, union representatives and disability managers split on whether it should count as an accommodation at all. Dr. Monique Gignac, scientific director and senior scientist at IWH and a professor at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health, presented the findings September 29, 2026, as part of the IWH Speaker Series.
The study, based on hour-long interviews with 32 organizational support providers across Canada, found that disability support is growing more complex in volume, frequency and the diversity of requests coming from workers. Participants spanned construction, health care, utilities, manufacturing, transportation and all three levels of government, and more than a third had lived experience of disability themselves.
Self-diagnosis and safety-critical work collide
Mental health, neurodiversity and well-being emerged as the most frequently cited source of new complexity, even though musculoskeletal conditions remained the most common type of request overall. Several participants described workers using self-diagnosis, sometimes informed by social media, to request changes to core job duties.
"We don't want candidates to think that this is something that as long as they share or they disclose anything, they can bypass certain critical steps," one support provider told researchers. In safety-critical sectors such as transportation, Gignac said self-disclosed conditions without formal documentation created particular difficulty, since functional limitations on safety-sensitive work cannot be assumed from disclosure alone.
Remote work splits opinion on rights versus accommodation
The study's most contentious theme centred on fully remote work. Participants credited it with improving recruitment, retention and disability inclusion, particularly at smaller employers. But several also linked it to social isolation and skill erosion. "I sense a ton of social anxiety the minute they step into a boardroom with us," one participant said. "They're in a different world than those of us who come in every day."
Gignac said these conversations routinely expanded beyond the specific accommodation request into unresolved, organization-wide debates over worker needs versus preferences — a tension consistent with what COS has reported about how employers can ease the mental health toll of remote work more broadly. "Should fully remote work be considered a special accommodation at all, or is it a regular work arrangement?" she said, summarizing the question many of her participants raised. She called for more research evaluating fully remote work outcomes for people with disabilities specifically, beyond standard productivity metrics.
Formal accommodation processes are straining under demand
A third theme centred on the tension between improving accessibility and formalizing accommodation processes. Participants broadly supported documentation as protective for both workers and employers, but several described systems buckling under volume. "They've already accommodated a third of their staff members, and they've already accommodated many of them not to work evening shifts. They just can't absorb any more," one healthcare-sector participant said.
Episodic conditions, where limitations fluctuate rather than remain constant, posed a distinct challenge in team-based or outdoor work, where an unplanned absence could halt an entire crew for safety reasons. Construction emerged as a sector with unusually fragmented accountability among owners, contractors and subcontractors, compounded by a workplace culture that some participants said still equates seeking support with weakness.
Duty to inquire and the physician's blurred role
During a question period, Gignac addressed what employers should do when a worker shows a pattern of absences without formally requesting accommodation. "You are required to sit down with workers and ask them whether or not there is something going on that is impacting their productivity or their absenteeism," she said, pointing to duty-to-inquire obligations under human rights legislation.
She also flagged a growing strain on the healthcare system, noting most physician involvement in her study centred on validating accommodation requests rather than assessing safety. "It's a real challenge for the healthcare system," Gignac said, adding that delays and inconsistent documentation sometimes push employers toward second opinions or insurer involvement. The Canadian Medical Association updated its national policy on physicians' role in return-to-work in June 2026, a timing that gives employers a fresh reference point as they revisit evidence-based return-to-work program principles of their own.
Gignac's team has also developed free tools, including the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool, to help workers and employers structure these conversations around job tasks rather than diagnoses. The findings add to ongoing coverage of psychological safety in Canadian workplaces, an area Gignac said needs continued research and practice change as workplace demographics and expectations shift.
