Publications by Author:

2015
Barbosa C, Bray JW, Dowd W, Mills MJ, Moen P, Wipfli B, Olson R, Kelly EL. Return on Investment of a Work-Family Intervention: Evidence From the Work, Family, and Health Network. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2015;57 (9) :943-51. Publisher's VersionAbstract

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.

2013
Barbosa C, Bray JW, Brockwood K, Reeves D. Costs of a Work-Family Intervention: Evidence From the Work, Family, and Health Network. Am J Health Promot. 2013;Aug 23 :[Epub ahead of print]. Publisher's VersionAbstract

Purpose . To estimate the cost to the workplace of implementing initiatives to reduce work-family conflict. Design . Prospective cost analysis conducted alongside a group-randomized multisite controlled experimental study, using a microcosting approach. Setting . An information technology firm. Subjects . Employees (n = 1004) and managers (n = 141) randomized to the intervention arm. Intervention . STAR (Start. Transform. Achieve. Results.) to enhance employees' control over their work time, increase supervisor support for employees to manage work and family responsibilities, and reorient the culture toward results. Measures . A taxonomy of activities related to customization, start-up, and implementation was developed. Resource use and unit costs were estimated for each activity, excluding research-related activities. Analysis . Economic costing approach (accounting and opportunity costs). Sensitivity analyses on intervention costs. Results . The total cost of STAR was $709,654, of which $389,717 was labor costs and $319,937 nonlabor costs (including $313,877 for intervention contract). The cost per employee participation in the intervention was $340 (95% confidence interval: $330-$351); $597 ($561-$634) for managers and $300 ($292-$308) for other employees (2011 prices). Conclusion . A detailed activity costing approach allows for more accurate cost estimates and identifies key drivers of cost. The key cost driver was employees' time spent on receiving the intervention. Ignoring this cost, which is usual in studies that cost workplace interventions, would seriously underestimate the cost of a workplace initiative.