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Refugee women are often unable to secure meaningful employment on arrival to Canada. As a result, the uptake of social assistance is common among new arrivals as a temporary provision of income whilst attending programs or upgrading skills. This study explored the factors that contribute to the use of social assistance among refugee women with a focus on the women's views and experience with the current welfare state as a tool for social protection. A modified grounded theory analysis guided our study which consisted of interviews with 20 recent refugee women and 9 settlement agency staff. The women described issues with the design and administration of social assistance which, at times, did not align with their needs. Some contrasted the conundrum of working in precarious jobs and receiving reduced social assistance payments as a consequence. Findings question prior assumptions on the use of social assistance among refugee groups. In particular, the refugee women appeared eager to work but were not afforded the same opportunities as other immigrant groups suggesting the need for social assistance schemes to adapt to the particular circumstances of refugee women to facilitate employment integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, self-employed people were among the hardest hit by the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and faced hardships such as financial decline, restrictions, and business closures. A plethora of financial support measures were rolled out worldwide to support them, but there is a lack of research looking at the effect of the policy measures on self-employed people. To understand how different governmental financial support measures enhanced the resilience of the self-employed and improved their ability to manage the pandemic, we conducted a mixed-method study using policy analysis and semi-structured interviews. The documents described policies addressing governmental financial support in Sweden and Canada during the pandemic, and the interviews were conducted with Swedish and Canadian self-employed people to explore how they experienced the support measures in relation to their resilience. The key results were that self-employed people in both countries who were unable to telework were less resilient during the pandemic due to financial problems, restrictions, and lockdowns. The interviews revealed that many self-employed people in hard-hit industries were dissatisfied with the support measures and found them to be unfairly distributed. In addition, the self-employed people experiencing difficulties running their businesses reported reduced well-being, negatively affecting their business survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the employment integration experiences of Syrian refugee women arriving to Canada through four common refugee streams: government-assisted, private sponsorship, Blended Visa office referral, and as refugee claimants. Drawing on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Syrian refugee women and key informants, we show how differences between streams – eligibility requirements, supports provided, services rendered – facilitate or act as barriers to seeking out and securing employment. The finding suggests that government-assisted refugee women struggled the most when compared with the other refugee women. Particularly, GAR women arrived with part of their families and minimal supports, affecting their mental well-being and job search. Meanwhile, the other refugee women typically arrived with the qualities (language, work experience) needed to integrate and so, were able to choose when, how, and the type of work they secured. Through this study, we propose policy recommendations that should be incorporated within the Canadian refugee system to mediate challenges and promote a positive resettlement experience for all refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:Theoretical and empirical research findings attest to the workplace being a social environment in which co-workers have a critical influence on the employment outcomes and return-to-work (RTW) success of other employees. However, co-workers do not have a formal role in RTW planning. The aim of this study was to explore how managers responsible for developing and implementing RTW procedures view the role of co-workers in this process. Method:An exploratory qualitative pilot study was conducted in Canada. Participants (1 male; 13 females; mean experience in RTW = 11.8 years) were workplace (n=8) or RTW managers (n=6) with direct oversight of RTW plans. The participants were recruited via invitation from a research institute and were drawn from three different provinces. Data were gathered via open-ended questions and were coded and subject to thematic analysis. Findings:Three key themes were identified: (1) Managers view RTW as having little relevance to co-workers but expect them to cooperate with the arrangements; (2) Formal procedures are inadequate when psychosocial barriers to work resumption are present, so managers use informal strategies to engage co-workers’ emotional and social support; and (3) Managers have difficulty integrating RTW procedures with other legal obligations, such as privacy and confidentiality requirements. Conclusion:Existing arrangements for the development and implementation of RTW are sufficient most of the time, but may be inadequate when an injured worker presents with psychosocial barriers to work resumption.Implications for RehabilitationStandard RTW arrangements can be inadequate when a RTW plan requires active co-worker support.Privacy and confidentiality provisions can result in managers using informal procedures for information exchange and to engage co-workers.The use of risk management strategies – assessment, consultation and communication – could be used to include co-workers when workplace issues threaten the success of a RTW plan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We are in the midst of a disjuncture between welfarist rationalities which assume collective insurance techniques such as workers' compensation, and neoliberal rationalities which assume a greater burden on individual responsibility to avoid risk. This study examines the mundane administration of the welfarist Canadian workers' compensation system through a qualitative study of how managers in four Ontario newspaper workplaces understand and respond to workers complaining of repetitive strain injury (RSI). Findings indicate that managers are informed by a pervasive neoliberal rationality and view RSI-prone workers as undisciplined and neglectful of their own bodies. Managers worked to reduce workers' claims for compensation through extensive surveillance of 'risky' worker bodies. The worker body emerges as a biopolitical terrain for the working out of tensions between welfarist and neoliberal rationalities as worker health becomes a locus for discourse on where to draw the line between rights and responsibilities and between civilian and the state. While others have targeted macrostructural reasons for the malfunctioning of workers' compensation, these data point to an alternative micropolitical explanation. This paper argues that the shift from a welfarist to a neoliberal rationality in workers' compensation consists in the mundane administration of worker bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]