Fringe benefits impact on employee engagement at the University of Balamand

Abstract

Employee engagement is in the core of every business‟s philosophy. The creation and improvement of optimal working conditions drives employees to give their best at work, and to devote themselves to the company. One of the factors that have been proposed to strengthen employee engagement is fringe benefits. The study aimed to look into the effect of fringe benefits on employee engagement in a private university in North Lebanon. This qualitative exploratory study determines the relationship between fringe benefits and employee engagement. Semi-structured interviews were held with the HR Director and with 24 faculty/staff members of different genders and different roles within the university. Another interview was conducted with an expert lawyer. Following that, thematic analysis was used to determine the most important factors related to employee engagement in general, and the effect of fringe benefits in specific. Results showed that in the university, employee engagement is high. However, it was shown that this was affected more by non-monetary rewards than it was by monetary rewards. During the interviews, many discussions and recommendations on improvement were given by the participants. Employees in general encouraged a flexible benefits system that they can choose from, and argued that it could lead to more employee engagement. All in all, employee engagement in the university must have a holistic approach that takes into account the difference in need of benefits for different employees, verbal and written recognition, and lastly, financial recognition.