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Only one thing helps against rising costs: more money
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Hardly any state aid has been criticized as much as the tank discount, which only benefits motorists (and oil companies).
But this type of funding is also very widespread in the private sector, despite the obvious criticism, as shown by a current survey by the Ifo Institute, which is exclusively available to SPIEGEL.
This shows that no other special benefit is given to company employees as often as fuel vouchers.
Every quarter, the ifo pollsters survey German HR managers on behalf of the personnel service provider Randstad.
The most recent Flexindex survey (second quarter of 2022) of around 660 companies was about, among other things, how they support their employees in the face of rising inflation and higher energy prices.
More than every second company (57 percent) took at least one measure.
Around a third of the companies surveyed relied on the cash injection for the car, mostly small and medium-sized industrial and trading companies.
Almost every fourth company agreed to special or one-off payments.
Every fifth company participated in tickets for local public transport - this was mainly done by the larger companies with more than 500 employees.
Overall, two thirds of the companies offer remote work for office jobs.
In large companies, working from home is more the rule than in smaller ones - but if smaller ones offer it, they make it possible to work for several days.
On average, 7.4 days were approved for fewer than 50 employees, while for companies with more than 500 employees it was only 5.3 days per month.
However, the employees are almost always left with the costs of working at home: only a few companies pay subsidies for electricity costs, for example.
One thing above all helps against rising costs: more money.
According to a survey conducted by management consultancy WTW among 573 European companies, including 62 German companies, four out of ten employers are planning to increase salaries more than originally planned.
According to the Flexindex survey, however, many employers initially rely on temporary wage increases or one-off bonuses.
The economist Klaus Wohlrabe, who heads the Flexindex survey, says: »Most companies want to react quickly and flexibly to issues such as rising energy costs and inflation.
You can hardly take wage increases back, but one-off payments and vouchers help to cushion a difficult situation initially.« He was surprised that more than half of the companies surveyed gave their employees special support in view of the increasing financial burden.
»These are certainly not only altruistic motives, but also a signal to the employees: you are important to us, we want to keep you.
With the increasing willingness of employees to change jobs, competition between companies has increased.«
In this context, he also sees the popularity of the fuel voucher as a special benefit because it is related to the work.
“Many people commute to work by car, especially when the incidence is rising.
The employer gives them the signal that they want to support them.« The HR expert Carolin Herbst, HR Group Director at Randstad Germany, however, points out: »Tax-free benefits in kind such as the fuel voucher do not relieve all employees.
The support must match the individual situation of the employee.
Many would be more helped with a meal voucher if food prices continued to rise.
Being open to the concerns of employees and sensitive to signs of overload is just as important in the current situation.«
