Poles are to work shorter hours. But will it pay off?
A shorter week or working day is just a matter of time? The government’s recent announcements are arousing extreme emotions in society and the business community. However, labour market experts approach the subject with distance. They believe that such revolutionary changes cannot be introduced overnight, because our economy has not yet matured to them. At the same time, they warn against the development of the grey market and a potential avalanche increase in the prices of products and services.
The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has declared that it will introduce revolutionary changes in working time during the current term of office. Two scenarios are being considered: establishing a four-day working week or reducing working days by an hour. As the head of the ministry argues, Poles are one of the most overworked nations in Europe, and fatigue and burnout reduce our productivity. However, according to experts, such radical changes to the Labour Code require numerous analyses and assessments of the effects of the introduction of new regulations, and in particular consultations with representatives of organisations associating employees and employers, which have not yet been carried out. The latter are skeptical about the subject, fearing above all an increase in employment costs. However, there are many more doubts.
“Changes are needed because they drive the economy and accelerate innovation. However, all changes, especially such revolutionary ones, must be well calculated and preceded by an in-depth analysis. They should not be introduced overnight, by a single act – says Andżelika Majewska, Vice President of the LeasingTeam Group employment agency. “I’m afraid that we may not be ready for such bold moves yet. Let’s not forget that we live in times when work has become a scarce “commodity”. For a long time now, there has been a shortage of blue collar employees, necessary to ensure the continuity of production or supplies. The introduction of a four-day working week for everyone would therefore hit hard the industrial sector or TSL, but also other sectors of the economy, where work must be performed seven days a week – lists Andżelika Majewska.
There is no denying that the announced changes to the Labour Code for many industries are associated with the need to hire new employees or pay overtime, and thus with higher employment costs. A natural consequence of this will be an increase in the prices of products and services, which means that we will all pay for it. According to experts, shorter working hours will also cause personnel perturbations in such important areas as health care, education and public transport.
Are we able to work less at all?
A shorter working week is not a new idea. Various models of changing the working time have already been used, for example, in Belgium, Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom. However, they do not necessarily have a chance to prove themselves in our country. The Polish economy is still catching up with its western neighbors, but entrepreneurs, especially in small and medium-sized companies, have been facing numerous adversities for several years now, such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, or the constantly rising costs of energy and employee retention. An opportunity to mitigate the economic effects of shortening working time is the development of new technologies or investments in process automation, which is to allow for the complete or partial replacement of the human factor. However, these solutions are not suitable for every sector of the economy. Therefore, it will be no less important to maintain the productivity of existing employees and prevent a situation where their quality of work decreases because they have less time to perform the same duties.
“Taking care of work-life balance and employee well-being should be a priority, and shortening working hours could certainly contribute to this. However, will such a change actually cause Poles to be less overworked? First of all, we should develop methods and tools to measure work effectiveness and legal solutions that will allow us to avoid abuse. In the face of the constantly rising cost of living, it is not difficult to imagine a situation in which an employee fills the time they have gained by working elsewhere. It is possible that it will be “illegal”, because more and more companies will not be able to bear even higher employment costs – wonders Andżelika Majewska.
According to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, analyses are currently being carried out to determine which system of shortening working time would be the most beneficial for both employees and employers. Work on the amendment of the regulations is to be preceded by talks with social partners, including representatives of employers’ groups.
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