Crisis Management Days

Differentiation of Croatian Companies by Benefits as an Aspect of Employee Compensation

Slobodan Čurčija

Mateja Fabijanac

GRAWE Hrvatska d.d.

Keywords: human resources management, incentive compensation, compensation management, employee benefits, COVID-19 pandemic

---

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences in employee benefits compensation in Croatian companies during the COVID-19 pandemic and after its ending. Accordingly, an empirical study was conducted to analyze these differences, encompassing a population of employees from the public and private sectors in the Republic of Croatia. In this regard, the research sample consisted of seventy-two respondents aged 18 to over 60 years.

The research results are divided into four sections. The first section uses descriptive statistics to outline the general and demographic characteristics of the survey respondents. The second section presents findings on employee satisfaction with the benefits offered by their current employer and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on changes in benefit options. The study concludes with an overview of respondents' opinions on the current landscape of available benefits in Croatian companies or by their employers. The analysis confirmed that the pandemic initiated changes in the structure of benefit programs. Furthermore, expanding the range of benefit options was found to positively influence overall employee satisfaction. Moreover, most respondents consider the availability of benefits to be a crucial factor when choosing an employer. However, a notable deficiency in flexible benefit programs was identified, underscoring the need to enhance and expand compensation offerings to include such benefits. Consequently, Croatian employers should consider adapting their benefit programs to more effectively meet employees' individual needs in the post-pandemic period.

One of the limitations of the study is its relatively small sample size.

---

References

Aflac, Workplace Benefits Trends 2021-2022, https://www.aflac.com/docs/awr/pdf/2021-overview/2021-aflac-awr-the-state-of-workplace-benefits.pdf/access 15122024).

AON, Global Wellbeing Survey Report 2022-2023, [available at: https://www.aon.com/getmedia/7ac45db3-d09a-4a5f-aca5-0c862426e6eb/aon-global-wellbeing-report-2022-2023.pdf/access December 15 2024

Armstrong, M., Taylor S. (2014). Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page, London

Armstrong, M. & Murlis, H. (2004). Reward Management, Kogan Page, London

Bester, V. (2022). What Is Non-Financial Compensation? (With Types and Benefits), [available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/pay-salary/compensation-type, access January 8 2025]

Cotton, C., Marriott, L., & Perkins, S., J. (2022). Reward management survey: focus on employee benefits, [available at: https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/knowledge/knowledge-hub/reports/reward-management-survey-2022_tcm18-108776.pdf, access January 8 2025

Croft, A. (2021). 7 employee benefits to offer during the pandemic, [available at: https://recruitee.com/articles/pandemic-employee-benefits/access January 31 2023

Čurčija, S. (2022). Military education and compensation in the function of improving the effectiveness of human resources in a military organization, Doctoral thesis, Faculty of Economics Split, University of Split

Čurčija, S. & Ćutić, D. (2023). Influence of Incentive Compensation on Employee Turnover in a Military Organization, Conference Proceedings Interdisciplinary Management Research Conference XIX, Osijek

Deci, E. L., Koestner, R. & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of exsperiments examing the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin

Galetić, L. (2015). Kompenzacijski menadžment, Sinergija, Zagreb

Half, R. (2025). Benefits and Perks, 2025 Salary Quide [avaliable at: https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/salary-guide/perks-benefits#trends/access April 5 2025]

Hoole, C., Hotz, G. (2016). The impact of a total reward system on work engagement. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, Vol 42, No1, a1317. [available at: https://dx.doi. org/10.4102/sajip.v42i1.1317, access January 8 2025]

Jobs for the Future (2021). Recovery Playbook for Impact Employers

Legault, L. (2016). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. In: Ziegler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences Springer, Cham. [available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1139-1/access January 8 2025]

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation: A 35-year Odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), pp. 705-717

Mathis, R., Jackson, J., H. (2011). Human Resource Management, Cengage Learning

The Mazars, (2017). The Mazars External Employee Motivation Survey 2017, pp. 1-21, [available at: https://twitter.com/MazarsIreland/status/881803395140636672/access July 28 2023

Naidu, A. T. & Satyanarayana, G. (2018). Impact of Compensation on Employee Performance, Intercontinental Journal of Human Resource Research Review, Volume 6, Issue 4

O'Reilly, Dennis, J. D. & Holznienkemper, L. (2024). Best Employee Benefits, Forbes, [available at: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/best-employee-benefits/access December 15 2024]

Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. K. (2000). Intrinsicc and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology

SHRM (2024). SHRM Study Finds Employer-Provided Benefits Have Dramatically Changed and Expanded During COVID-19 Pandemic, [available at: https://www.shrm.org/about/press-room/shrm-study-finds-employer-provided-benefits-dramatically-changed-expanded-covid-19-pandemic/access April 5 2025]

SHRM (2025). SHRM 2025 Employee Benefits Survey, [available at: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/research/employee-benefits-survey/access February 25 2025]