Introduction
Compensation is defined as the wages, salaries and bonuses that an employee gets while in employment. On the other hand, benefits describe the extra consideration that the employer offers to the employee. However, the employee is not expressly entitled to benefits. Benefits include health care packages, life insurance and any other form of payment to the employer which may be termed as paid off.
The amount set aside by companies for benefits appeal to employees and companies with high compensation rates hence attracting competent employees. Some companies make compensation of different employees to be dependent on the performance of the employees while others put it at a flat rate. It is also imperative to note that some compensations offered at the workplace is an attraction gesture while others are expressly provided by a designed policy (Boyes & Melvin, 245).
Benefits focus on employee needs while trying to reconcile that with the set objectives of the organization. They include improving the level of employee satisfaction by the keeping the employees healthy and finding ways of motivating them. There are benefits that an employee extends to the employer for jobs that were not done.
Paid off benefits are very common and they include an employee getting breaks and holidays. Some employers restrict employees to sick leave only. In addition, medical benefits are wide and include retirement of health insurance. Lastly, the retirement benefits and retirement bonus fall under the category of other benefits (Galasso, 257).
Italian benefits and compensation schemes are based on government provisions that are said to be generous to workers. The employees in Italy are given a narrow way in comparing and choosing the available pension schemes. The regulatory framework in place has been restructured to remedy the situation.
The role played by the Italian government has remained very helpful in supporting the health care and pensions programs. The dimensions surrounding good job and a better working place has become increasing under strict consideration of companies in Italy (Galasso, 256).
The high quality jobs that are offered depend on the benefits and compensation schemes of different companies. The nature and quality of employment substantially affects the health and the general wellbeing of an employee. Jobs with a high percentage of extreme working hours have negative outcomes.
Benefits of a good quality job are not only realized by the employees, but the employers benefit too. Positive outcomes in different organizations within Italy have been achieved due to the adoption of quality ways of promoting stable, quality employment. In order to minimize the turnover, employees have been engaged in the process. An estimate of 59% of the employees in Italy engaged in this cost reducing system to express their willingness to stay in employment for a long time (Mignone, 88).
The main indicators of quality employment in Italy include the existence of quality employment through attractive benefits and compensation schemes. Compensation and benefits are distributed in a manner that is fair hence meeting many of the employee’s basic needs.
Fair and equitable compensation benefits schemes have been geared towards getting a stable environment. In this case, the employer has been able to meet his/her economic and health needs. Employees are highly productive if they are given a range of benefits from which to choose (Mignone, 89).
In comparison, the work places in Italy have a small number of payment options of share schemes and profits while France, Germany and Spain have large numbers of payment options. In consideration to workers managerial and professional level, France has the highest number of flexible pay options.
The mode of assessment was through the use of a scale to measure a variety of options that are in existence from different workers. This includes employee share scheme and profit sharing schemes. The benefits available in the Italy schemes cut across the managerial professional and other types of employees (Boyes & Melvin, 240).
The availability of different variations in organizational state in Italy compared to other countries shows that, basing on individual performance and team performance, Italy has the highest pay variations which are pegged on the organizational level. Advancement and learning which is a benefit extended to employees varies in comparison. A comparison of Italy to France, Spain and Germany shows that Italy has few opportunities for learning and education of employees.
On the other hand, Germany offers high rate of opportunities for learning and development. The Germany case rests on average learning opportunities for employees at different levels. The opportunities based on the development and the learning of the employee so as to expand and enhance competent skills to handle different challenges in the work place is a benefit. In Italy, it has not been highly implemented compared to France, Germany and Spain (Mignone, 80).
The well being of employees and provision of safe workplaces has facilitated protection of employees in the workplace. The workplace policies available in Italy show that the policies in place are to be looked at and assessed on how they have protected workers in Italy and other countries. Compared to France, Germany and Spain, Italy has demonstrated high levels of employee’s performance programs as a way of giving a clear assessment to training.
The organization of work in Italy is also reliable since it considers the developmental needs of the employees. On the other hand, France seems to make the highest recordings of employees’ performance assessment reports. A clear estimate indicates that 86% of Italian workers are conversant with assessment training to support developmental needs of the employee (Reilly, 76).
An approximated 57% of the employees in Italy have used the performance assessments to show how organizational levels of the workplace are handled. On the provisions of security and predictabilities, Italy’s employment field has shown the capacity to communicate the terms of employment to different employees in different categories.
The determination of the effectiveness of such provisions to an employee warrants a comparison of Italy with other countries such as France, Germany, and Spain. The comparison shows that Italy has a small percentage of using recruitment freezes and internal transfers in reducing the work force. In Germany, the exercise is widely known, and employees are likely to report the internal transfers and recruitment freezes as a method of reducing the work force (Galasso, 258).
Having a workplace whereby flexibility is enhanced is one of the benefits that employees get to enjoy. In Italy, the work places have a very low proportion of flexibility available. In Germany and France, employees enjoy flexible options where they are allowed to exercise freedom of choice and control over the working conditions and work friendly options (Boyes & Melvin, 240).
The programs incorporated in the Italian work place show that diversity and cultural respect are highly pronounced. In Italy, the programs mainly target people with disabilities, women and workers at old age. This lies under the category of benefits available to employers. Compared to France, Germany and Spain, Italy seems to be having more programs in average work places.
The relationship of different employees and their employer at the work place is very critical. This benefit enhances productivity at the work place. The interaction between employees and the managers or supervisors is very vital. In Italy, constructive relationships at the work place have been used so as to promote quality employment environment framework.
The relationships at workplaces in Italy show a professional way of dealing with different conflicts at workplace. In Germany, the constructive relationships are not popular in job places. This explains the reason as to why the German organizational level is very poor. The foregoing comparison considered the issue of distinct policies and how each country monitors it benefits to employees. In their unique way of offering benefits regulated by different laws and policies, the discussion shows points of agreement (Reilly, 16).
Conclusion
The discussion above clearly shows the essence of benefits and compensation in Italy‘s working environment. The availability of different programs meant to promote the realization of compensation and the said benefits has been considered. The comparison on how employees enjoy a wide range of benefits as an individual and at the organizational level.
The way the benefits have been facilitated compared to other countries has been shown. The discussion shows that Italy is better in offering the said benefits than France, Germany and Spain. The different systems of labor and policies could not be completely ruled out from the discussion.
Works Cited
Boyes, William J. & M. Melvin. Fundamentals of Economics. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2009. Print.
Galasso, Vincenzo. The Political Future of Social Security in Aging Societies. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: MIT Press, 2006. Print.
Mignone, Mario B. Italy Today: Facing the Challenges of the New Millennium. New York: Peter Lang, 2008. Print.
Reilly, David J. Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Proceedings of the New York University 59th Annual Conference on Labor. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International, 2010. Print.