Published 2025-12-04
Keywords
- human resources management,
- incentive compensation,
- compensation management,
- employee benefits,
- COVID-19 pandemic
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2025 Author

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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.
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