The main goal of the innovation is to give workers the opportunity to work fewer hours, but keep their wages at the same level.
Poland is launching a pilot of a four-day working week from June 30, 2025, with plans to introduce it on a large scale for everyone by 2027. The idea is to reduce working hours without reducing wages, improving workers' well-being and stimulating work-life balance.
INFOR.pl writes about this
The pilot offers three options for reducing working hours. The first is a traditional 5-day workweek, but with a 6-hour workday instead of the usual 8 hours. The second option involves working only 4 days a week instead of 5, with the total number of working hours reduced by about 20%.
The specific distribution of working days will be determined by the company itself, for example, to work from Monday to Thursday, and make Friday a day off. The third option is to keep the standard 5-day schedule, but increase the number of paid days off per year. The number of additional days off will be determined by the employer.
The initiative aims not only to improve the quality of life of workers, but also to become a response to the growing demographic problems of the country. Poland is one of the most hard-working nations in Europe, but excessive workload has a negative impact on families and the birth rate.
According to experts, reducing working hours will help people devote more time to family and raising children, which may stimulate the desire to start families. Similar steps have already been taken in France, Denmark, Belgium and Spain.
As for Ukrainians working in Poland, there is no precise data yet on whether the new working hours regime will apply to them. According to official data, at the end of last year, about 780 thousand Ukrainians worked in Poland, but the real figure may be higher, since many work unofficially.
The project is currently focused primarily on Polish citizens, especially given the demographic goals. In other European countries, such as Belgium and Croatia, such innovations apply only to the local population, while migrants are offered the usual 5-day work week.
However, if Ukrainians officially work in companies that participate in the pilot project, they will also be able to take advantage of reduced working hours. There are no specific indications yet that this opportunity will be closed only to Poles. At the same time, those who work in Poland unofficially are unlikely to receive such benefits, since state guarantees do not apply to them.
The introduction of a four-day workweek and other options for reducing working hours is part of Poland's strategy to improve work-life balance and combat the demographic crisis. In the near future, the country's workers will be able to choose how to organize their workweek in a way that preserves their income while having more time for themselves and their families.
Let us recall that earlier we wrote that Ukrainians who plan to stay in Poland for a long time should be prepared to exchange their driver's licenses for local ones.
