ABSTRACT
In the current context of high unemployment rates and stretched budgets, job insecurity is rising along with pressure on employees. This particular situation is combined with structural factors, such as the ageing population, or the increasing number of women in the workforce. More and more employees are facing stressful situations in their workplaces whilst also shouldering the responsibility of one or more dependents at home. Some companies provide voucher programmes for their employees, in the form of paper or cards, to help them to gain access to specific goods and services and to ease everyday pressures. This chapter will analyse the services voucher system, as well as its developments and impacts in the countries in which it operates. The study is based on the representative experience of countries with different social, economic, political and cultural contexts.
