Evaluating the Health Benefits of Workplace Policies and Practices - Phase II

Summary

Although the prevalence of "family-friendly" policies in US workplaces has increased dramatically, few have been studied using scientifically sound designs. To address this, the NIH and CDC formed the Work, Family, and Health Network (WFHN). During Phase 1, the WFHN designed and conducted multiple pilot and feasibility studies. For Phase 2, the WFHN implemented an innovative intervention based on Phase I pilot studies that is designed to increase family-supportive supervisor behaviors and employee control over work, and to evaluate the intervention using a group randomized experimental design. Customized interventions were performed separately in workplaces of two separate corporate partners.

Conditions

• Focus of Study: Work Conditions

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Intervention

The intervention was a 3-month structural and social change process designed to increase employee control over work time and family supportive supervisory behaviors (Kossek et al., in press). The change process was an integration of two previously evaluated interventions (Hammer et al., 2011; Kelly et al., 2011). A facilitator led 8 hrs of participatory sessions to transition employees from a time-based to a results-based work culture. Supervisors participated in all change activities plus 4hrs of training in supportive supervision. Training in family supportive supervision was implemented with behavioral computer-based training (cTRAIN, NWeta, Lake Oswego, OR) followed by 2 rounds of goal-setting and behavioral self-monitoring using an iPod Touch (Habitrack, OHSU, Portland, OR).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Aging (NIA)

  collaborator NIH

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

  collaborator NIH

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

  collaborator NIH

• Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

  collaborator NIH

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH/CDC)

  collaborator FED

• Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lisa F Berkman, PhD · Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)

• Orfeu M Buxton, PhD · Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School; Harvard School of Public Health; Pennsylvania State University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2009-09-30

Primary Completion

2012-12-31

Completion

2012-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations