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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Poland’s government has announced that it will launch a shorter working week pilot programme. Poles on average currently work some of the longest hours in Europe.
“This will be the first pilot of reduced working hours in this part of Europe, the first such large-scale pilot in Poland,” said Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, the minister for family, labour and social policy.
“More than a century after the introduction of the eight-hour working day, Poles are definitely working more efficiently, better and smarter. It is time for them to start working less,” she added.
Polskie społeczeństwo pracuje ciężko. Jesteśmy w europejskiej czołówce pod kątem godzin spędzanych w pracy. Czy da się to zmienić? 🤔
👉 Kraje takie jak Francja, Belgia i Dania pokazują, że tak – jest to możliwe. Jako Ministerstwo Rodziny, Pracy i Polityki Społecznej wierzymy, że… pic.twitter.com/APlarOaL6u— Ministerstwo Rodziny, Pracy i Polityki Społecznej (@MRPiPS_GOV__PL) April 28, 2025
The programme will allow businesses, local authorities, foundations and trade unions to voluntarily test a shorter working week by either reducing working hours each day, extending the weekend to three days, or providing more annual leave days.
Regardless of the chosen method, participating organisations will have to maintain current salaries and staff numbers.
The ministry plans to present more details in June and launch recruitment for the pilot in the subsequent months. In the first year, 10 million zloty (€2.3 million) will be allocated toward implementing and executing the programme.
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In its announcement, the ministry highlighted that Poland is among the most over-worked nations in Europe. According to Eurostat, Poles work the third-longest hours in the European Union.
In 2023, those employed in Poland worked on average 39.3 hours a week, well above the EU-wide figure of 36.1, and behind only those in Greece and Romania, who worked on average 39.8 and 39.5 hours a week respectively.
The ministry’s goal is to reduce annual working hours by 20%. It said that its analyses of a shorter working week point to benefits for employees such as better health, lower risk of burnout, time for oneself and loved ones, opportunities for personal development and longer-lasting professional careers.
Meanwhile, employers benefit from employees’ increased efficiency and creativity, fewer mistakes and accidents, reduced absenteeism, and greater competitiveness on the labour market.
The ministry also cited two examples of the successful implementation of a shorter working week in Poland – in the city of Włocławek in central Poland and in one of the country’s oldest firms, Herbapol Poznań.
Poles work the second-longest hours in the EU, new @EU_Eurostat data show.
In 2022, they worked on average 40.4 hours a week compared to the EU-wide figure of 37.5 hours and behind only Greece (41 hours) https://t.co/dXTDGdg0O3
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 22, 2023
Speaking at the announcement, Krzysztof Kukucki, the mayor of Włocławek, explained that a shorter working week was first trialled in the town hall before later being expanded to other public institutions. Currently “several thousand people enjoy the benefits of the 35-hour working week,” he said.
Meanwhile, Herbapol Poznań first introduced a four-day working week in 2023. “The principle we followed was: the employee can only gain from this change, and the company cannot lose,” explained Tomasz Kaczmarek, president of the company’s management board.
While at first Herbapol’s decision was met with criticism and scepticism, also among some employees, it resulted in lower employee turnover, less absenteeism, and the company’s best financial results in many years.
The ministry’s announcement was, however, criticised by some. “At the moment, the Polish economy certainly cannot afford it. We are in a phase when labour resources are shrinking very rapidly due to the demographic crisis,” said Rafał Dutkiewicz, head of the Employers Poland organisation, to radio station TOK FM.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Poland’s ministry of family, labour and social policy
Agata Pyka is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland. She is a journalist and a political communication student at the University of Amsterdam. She specialises in Polish and European politics as well as investigative journalism and has previously written for Euractiv and The European Correspondent.
