Employee benefits are a compensation tool to increase employees' motivation and productivity. There has been a tremendous growth in the number and cost of employee benefits over the twentieth century. When a benefit is first introduced, it is an "extra" and may be appreciated as such. However, it may soon become routine and expectations would be revised upwards.

Review employee benefits and their impact on employee motivation and productivity and respond to the following:

• Has the expansion in the number and cost of benefits resulted in increased motivation and therefore increased the productivity of the workforce? Or are benefits an expectation and therefore yield little motivation or productivity growth?