IKEA gives a hefty holiday bonus for employees, but there’s a catch - East Idaho News
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IKEA gives a hefty holiday bonus for employees, but there’s a catch

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IKEA may not be lighting its employees’ Christmas trees, but it’s definitely brightening their pension accounts.

The furniture company announced this week that it’ll give thousands of its employees across the world a holiday bonus worth about 14,700 kronor (or about $1,615), according to Mirror.

Staff members who have worked for the company for more five years or longer will receive the bonus. It will be deposited into their pension pots, Mirror reported.

All full-time staff — regardless of position or salary — will earn the bonus. Part-time workers will also get a bonus, which will be adjusted based on how many hours they work in a week, Mirror reported.

“We want to be an amazing place to work, where people are happy, thrive and want to stay,” IKEA’s human relations manager Karin Bergman told Mirror. “We know that our colleagues primarily want to work for us because we are a values-based company with a focus on development.”

According to The Sun, this bonus will apply to workers of IKEA around the world. As of 2016, about 155,000 people globally work for IKEA.

This isn’t the first time IKEA has offered its employees a holiday bonus. In 2014, for example, IKEA workers in the United Kingdom earned a 10 percent bonus, according to the International Business Times.

These bonuses may be part of the reason the furniture company has been featured in lists of the best companies to work for. IKEA ranked No. 2 in Forbes’ 2012 list of best companies to work for, with its CEO Mikael Ohlsson earning a 93 percent approval rating.

Of course, IKEA isn’t everyone’s favorite company. Back in 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported that U.S. employees made complaints about the company. One worker quit the company for a lower-paying job because the conditions were often too demanding.

As NPR reported, employee criticisms make little noise in the United States but are often headline news in Sweden, where the company is based. Employees who work for IKEA in Sweden often make more money and receive more vacation days than Americans.

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