Should I stay or should I go? White-collar workers' perception of compensation and benefit packages in relation to work motivation and employee engagement - A case study at Volvo Car Corporation

Abstract

This master thesis describes how white-collar workers at Volvo Car Corporation perceive compensation and benefits packages and what it means to their work motivation and engagement. The case company is in need to attract and retain the right competences to reach its future vision and objectives, therefore it is crucial to have a motivated and engaged workforce. This is not merely a matter for Volvo Car Corporation, rather all organisations within the industry strive to have motivated and engaged employees that intents to remain at the employer. By exploring in what way compensation and benefit packages impact on work motivation and engagement and consequently what employees find to be of importance at work, are valuable findings for organisations within the vehicle industry. A case study was conducted at the organisation, with a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data. Motivation theories were used to describe the meaning of satisfaction at work. Equity theory and social comparison theory were applied on the results in order to make sense of the concept employee engagement. The results showed that the employees found compensations to be important for work motivation and engagement in the long run, but other factors such as work tasks and appreciation from managers and colleagues were of more importance. The employees appreciated benefits, but these were less important for work motivation. Nevertheless, benefits could contribute to comparisons among colleagues. A majority wanted to remain at the employer, although employees in the ages 21-40 were much more open-minded to change employer. Reasons for staying at the company were interesting work tasks and challenges in work, but also due to convenience and safety. The main reason for leaving the employer for another was higher salary.