Job Demands Analysis

Our Job Demands Analysis (JDA) services provide employers with an objective, detailed understanding of the physical, sensory, cognitive and behavioural demands of a specific job.

Completed onsite by a Registered Occupational Therapist (OT), a JDA documents both essential and non-essential job duties, identifies the demands associated with each task, and provides practical information that can support return to work, workplace accommodation, job matching, disability management and injury prevention.

A JDA provides an objective and measurable analysis of a job and its individual tasks, including the physical, sensory, cognitive-behavioural and environmental requirements needed to perform the position.

The completed assessment provides employers, healthcare professionals and disability management teams with reliable information about what the job actually requires.

Depending on the position and workplace, the assessment may include:

• An overview of the job, including responsibilities, essential and non-essential duties, shift length and schedule, breaks and staffing requirements
• A description of the work environment, workplace exposures and required personal protective equipment (PPE)
• A task-by-task analysis of physical demands, including manual material handling, postures, movements and mobility requirements
• Identification of sensory and cognitive-behavioural demands
• Documentation of the equipment and tools used to perform the work
• The frequency and duration of individual job tasks
• Objective measurements of weights, forces, heights, reaches, distances and other relevant job demands
• Photographs of relevant job tasks, equipment and tools, where appropriate
• A customized, reader-friendly report summarizing the job’s physical, sensory and cognitive-behavioural demands
• Identification of potential modified duties, when requested and appropriate

A Registered Occupational Therapist attends the workplace to assess the job in its actual work environment.

The OT may:

• Review job descriptions, safe operating procedures or job routines, previous PDAs or JDAs and other relevant workplace information
• Interview supervisors, managers and workers familiar with the position
• Observe workers performing representative job tasks
• Measure physical and task-specific job demands using appropriate assessment and measurement tools
• Document relevant physical, environmental, sensory and cognitive-behavioural requirements

Before the report is finalized, the job information is sent to the employer for validation and review by worker and employer representatives to confirm that the documented duties and demands accurately reflect the position.

A current JDA can provide valuable objective job information when managing WSIB, Short-Term Disability (STD), Long-Term Disability (LTD), return-to-work and workplace accommodation cases.

The JDA can help employers, healthcare providers and disability management professionals:

• Understand the physical demands required to perform a job
• Understand the cognitive, behavioural and sensory demands of the position
• Understand environmental barriers that may impact job performance
• Compare an employee's functional abilities or medical restrictions with actual job requirements
• Identify potential barriers to a safe and sustainable return to work
• Identify job tasks that may require modification or accommodation
• Explore potential modified duties
• Support Job Match Assessments
• Inform rehabilitation and return-to-work planning
• Develop a realistic plan for returning to the pre-injury position, with or without accommodation
• Provide treating healthcare professionals with objective information about the employee's workplace and job demands

Having an up-to-date JDA inventory available before an injury or illness occurs can also reduce delays by giving employers and healthcare professionals timely access to detailed job information when return-to-work or accommodation planning begins.

A Job Demands Analysis can also support:

• New employee orientation and training
• Development or review of job descriptions
• Identification of workplace and task-related demands
• Job matching and accommodation planning
• Health and safety initiatives
• Identification of potential modified work opportunities
• Determining whether an employee's documented functional abilities are compatible with the demands of a particular position