Cost and Return on Investment of a Work-Family Intervention in the Extended Care Industry: Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network

Objective: To estimate the cost and return on investment (ROI) of an intervention targeting work-family conflict (WFC) in the extended care industry. Methods: Costs to deliver the intervention during a group-randomized controlled trial were estimated, and data on organizational costs - presenteeism, health care costs, voluntary termination, and sick time - were collected from interviews and administrative data. Generalized linear models were used to estimate the intervention's impact on organizational costs. Combined, these results produced ROI estimates. A cluster-robust confidence interval (CI) was estimated around the ROI estimate. Results: The per-participant cost of the intervention was $767. The ROI was -1.54 (95% CI: -4.31 to 2.18). The intervention was associated with a $668 reduction in health care costs (P < 0.05). Conclusions: This paper builds upon and expands prior ROI estimation methods to a new setting.