The Academia Worker Toolkit was developed using a two-pronged approach: 1) information about existing interventions from the academic literature and internet searches and 2) what we heard and learned from research participants in our worker surveys, worker interviews, and stakeholder interviews.

Review of Existing Interventions

Our research team reviewed existing academic literature and conducted internet searches for 1) interventions that were developed specifically for academia and 2) generic interventions from reputable sources that could potentially be tailored for use in academia.

HPW Worker Surveys

As part of a larger study of Canadian professional workers, 379 academics completed a survey about their experiences with mental health, leaves of absences, and return to work between November 2020 and May 2021.

60% (n = 226) reported having experienced a mental health issue over the course of their career or training.

Of these 226 academics, many made changes to their work and considered taking a leave of absence, but only 23% (n = 53) actually took a leave of absence.

HPW Worker and Stakeholder Interviews

Our research team conducted in-depth interviews with workers and stakeholders, in French or English between January and July 2021, addressing mental health, leaves of absence, and return to work pathways in academia. We conducted 34 interviews with academic workers with a range of characteristics and 18 interviews with a range of stakeholders, representing interests of unions, professional associations, supervisors/managers, universities, insurers, and those representing cross-cutting expertise.