A shorter working week also in Poland? This will be a real revolution in labor law. The bill is in the House of Representatives
Thursday is the new Friday – will this solution soon become the norm in Poland too? There is a bill in the House of Representatives that talks about shortening the working week from 40 to 35 hours now. This working time system is being tested in other countries. What does this change mean for Polish employees and their portfolios?
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Only this year The Poles will be at work for a total of 250 days, which is 2,000 hours. Estimated to be average We work weekly 39.7 hours. This result puts us at the forefront of the most stressful countries in the European Union, with a weekly average of 36.4 hours, according to Eurostat data.
These numbers assume that We are working It is worth emphasizing that recently more and more people in Poland are engaged in extracurricular activities. Working a double job is gaining in popularityMeanwhile in Poland, an increasing percentage of people are experiencing symptoms of occupational burnout. Studies say that 25 to 35 percent. Poles may be professionally burned.
More work equals a thicker wallet? There is no denying that in the vast majority of cases more a job It is associated with improving the employee’s financial condition. 24 additional working hours per month is a cash injection of at least PLN 390 net, which is PLN 4,680 per year. For many people, this amount can be the answer to pressing problems.
However, overtime is not always a good solution in the long run, because it can lead, for example, to professional burnout. Its causes include:
- overloaded with duties,
- Tired
- A very responsible task
- Tired, monotonous and boring a jobAnd
- Imbalance between private life and professional life.
These points are easy to meet when working two jobs. Occupational burnout itself is associated with physical and mental exhaustion, negative perception or increased stress, frustration or occupational crisis, which is equivalent to decreased efficiency. So in the long run, it may involve more costs than benefits.
The consequences of professional burnout are also painful for companieswhich has to face a decrease in employee efficiency, extended vacations, an increase in the frequency of sick leave, as well as an increase in employee turnover.
The answer to the growing problem of occupational burnout in Poland, fatigue, but also a preventive measure, is the legal default of a job. Numerous studies confirm that reducing working hours is associated with up to 40% increased employee motivation.More efficient and better organized.
– It can be estimated that for a large group of enterprises, reducing working time will entail a reorganization of the work system, but also some savings. However, for many others – in particular in the service sector, for example gastronomy or production companies – shortening the working week for each employee by about one day a week is a real loss – notes Marcin Kosov, President of the Confederation of Financial Companies of Poland.
As he notes, in some cases we can talk about a decrease in turnover by 1/5 or the need for work new employeesIt is equivalent to incurring additional costs. – It can be seen that the proposed project is assumed to occur Reducing employee working timebut while maintaining his current earnings – he adds.
As he stresses, the current situation is not conducive to such big changes in terms of employment that shortening time brings a job.
– Four working days a week It’s a mental acronym that often comes up when analyzing a draft law – it was explained some time ago in an interview with Strefa Biznesu, attorney Marta Olczak-Klimek from the law firm Olczak-Klimek, van der Kroft, Węgiełek.
In practice, it will appear that firms will have the same number of people in a shorter time in the case of large production or service plants. He says this can be quite a challenge. – On the other hand, for micro and small businesses business men Consequences related to the fact that the small entrepreneur will incur the same costs as today shorten working time employee, he added.
According to experts, shortening working time – also in Poland – is inevitable in the long run. Technological advances, the development of artificial intelligence, bots – even ChatGPT – affect the time required a job person and their scope of responsibilities. In many professions, AI-based tools are taking over human work—putting them in the role of supervisor, not that of contractor, so shortening work time is a perfectly natural aspiration.
– We expect it to be the subject of shortening the dimension a job It will not disappear from our eyes. This is one of the most important distinguishing features of the modern and future economy – he points out as a couple and stresses at the same time that before we take steps to shorten working time, before we fully implement appropriate solutions, it will be necessary to reorganize many processes in almost every enterprise.
