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Return on Investment of a Work–Family Intervention: Evidence From the Work, Family, and Health Network

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • Carolina Barbosa
  • Jeremy W. Bray
  • William N. Dowd
  • Michael J. Mills
  • Phyllis Moen
  • Brad Wipfli
  • Ryan Olson
  • Erin L. Kelly
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>2015
<mark>Journal</mark>Journal of occupational and environmental medicine
Issue number9
Volume57
Number of pages9
Pages (from-to)943–951
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the return on investment (ROI) of a workplace initiative to reduce work–family conflict in a group-randomized 18-month field experiment in an information technology firm in the United States. Methods: Intervention resources were micro-costed; benefits included medical costs, productivity (presenteeism), and turnover. Regression models were used to estimate the ROI, and cluster-robust bootstrap was used to calculate its confidence interval. Results: For each participant, model-adjusted costs of the intervention were $690 and company savings were $1850 (2011 prices). The ROI was 1.68 (95% confidence interval, −8.85 to 9.47) and was robust in sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: The positive ROI indicates that employers’ investment in an intervention to reduce work–family conflict can enhance their business. Although this was the first study to present a confidence interval for the ROI, results are comparable with the literature.