benefits and compensation around the world

A variety of factors influencing worker benefits

A variety of countries and businesses handle their workers differently in terms of benefits, public holidays, leaves, and pay. The religion of the society, its economic philosophies, and its laws are among the factors that decide the disparities in the different benefits offered. These elements are explored in the following section.

Religion’s impact on benefits

Religion is significant in countries where the state follows a single religion, such as Saudi Arabia, which is primarily Muslim. Employees in the country profit from the Ramadan Bonus, which is mostly compensated during the Ramadan season. This is in contrast to countries such as the United States that do not have state religions but instead subscribe to a secular form of living with everyone having the right to exercise their own beliefs and conscience. These countries often do not have such bonuses fitted in the vast array of religious holidays. After all, who would be ready to work out every scheme for each religion? Secondly, the economic system in a country influences the compensation packages offered. For example, safety nets are seen as a socialist aspect, which is one of the primary rationales for their dislike in capitalist countries. Thirdly, the various regulations in the countries affect compensation schemes, for example, in several European countries, mandatory paid public holidays are common while in the United States, it is entirely up to the employer (Ray & Schmitt, 2007).

Conclusion

Benefits packages are important in the stimulation of employees and can be a big factor in retaining talent within an organization. However, they vary from organization to organization and state to state. The various forms of benefits in the form of sick leave, vacation, and public holidays are affected by factors such as religion of the state, the economic philosophies of the state, and the regulations in the state as elaborated in the above discussion.

References

Ray, R., & Schmitt, J. (2007, June 14). No-vacatio nation USA- a comparison of leave and holiday in OECD countries. Retrieved from law.harvard.edu: http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/lwp/papers/No_Holidays.pdf