Are Companies Maintaining Social Benefits in Constrained Economic Times?

Abstract

Purpose – Is the current economic crisis affecting the quality of working conditions within organisations? More specifically, due to constrained economic times, are organisations reducing the social benefits they offer to employees? This study analyses whether the current economic downturn influences companies’ maintenance of social benefits. Social benefits are those remunerations in kind voluntarily offered by an employer beyond what is established in labour laws and collective agreements

Design/methodology/approach – In doing so, this chapter presents an analysis of the evolution of social benefits in a sample of 171 employees, comparing the situation before and during the economic crisis.

Findings – Results showed that, in general, social benefits offered by companies to their workers have been reduced due to economic recession.

Originality/value of the chapter – Understanding the topic addressed in this work is interesting for scholars, regulators, and practitioners because the diminishing of social benefits due to the economic constraints could yield negative consequences for the employees’ involvement with the firm and have a subsequent negative impact on business performance.

Practical/social implications – This work demonstrates the need to pay greater attention to indirect remuneration. This issue is intimately related to the Internal Corporate Social Responsibility of the company.

Citation

Dolores Vidal-Salazar, M., Ferrón-Vilchez, V. and Cordón-Pozo, E. (2012), "Are Companies Maintaining Social Benefits in Constrained Economic Times?", Underwood, S., Blundel, R., Lyon, F. and Schaefer, A. (Ed.) Social and Sustainable Enterprise: Changing the Nature of Business (Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, Vol. 2), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 141-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-7246(2012)0000002011