In Poland, there have been discussions about reducing working hours for some time. The left proposes reducing the workweek by five hours, from the current 40 to 35 hours. One of the demands of the Civil Coalition was the introduction of a 4-day working week. Jeremi Mordasevich, an advisor to the board of the Leviatan Confederation, is an opponent of the legislative reduction of working hours in Poland.

– If it is possible to reduce working hours at an enterprise without reducing output, this can be done, but in the event of a legislative reduction in working hours and, as a result, a decrease in workers’ incomes, especially hardworking and ambitious people will be more willing to emigrate to countries that do not impede the path to prosperity of its inhabitants. – the expert argues.

Reduction of working hours in Poland. Why is there no point in looking at the Germans?

Mordasevich admits that French citizens did not emigrate after the reduction in working hours, but this is because “they had difficulty finding a country offering better living conditions.” In many countries the standard of living is higher. The expert also admits that we work longer than the French and Germans, but, as he points out, we are a society that makes progress.

– The Germans, French and Scandinavians can afford to work shorter hours because their companies have several times more capital per employee than ours. That is why it is so important to accumulate capital and invest in the development of new products and technologies, computerization and automation of production, and the development of a sales network. – explains Confederation board advisor Leviatan.

The expert does not share the opinion that the reduction in working hours will be compensated by an increase in efficiency. – Some of us actually work beyond our capacity, and a person who works too much is less effective. Key Question: What does “too much” mean? Should the current 40 hours of work per week be considered excessive use of the body? Moreover, taking into account Saturday and Sunday, weekends, holidays, holidays and sick leave, we work on average 215 days a year and rest 150. We work as much as the inhabitants of Western Europe worked at our current level of economic development – – says Mordasevich.

– Thanks to technological progress and organizational changes, we can count on an increase in labor productivity in Poland of 2-3 percent per year. So if we shorten the work week by one day, i.e. from 40 to 32 hours, production – and with it income – will decrease by almost 20 percent and it will take us almost 10 years to return to the current income of workers – he adds.

Mordasevich notes that the consequences of reducing working hours in the case of healthcare will be tragic. This will also have a negative impact on inflation. – Reducing working hours without an adequate reduction in wages will be a strong inflationary impulse, since part of wages will not be covered by production and services, and this is the source of inflation. – explains the expert.

– Let’s not limit working hours by law, let’s leave this to the joint decision of employers and employees – sums it up.

Poles talk about reducing working hours

Meanwhile, according to a survey by SW Research for Vprost, just over 60 percent of Poles are in favor of shortening the working week by five hours while maintaining current wages. Almost 20 percent of respondents have a different opinion. An almost identical percentage of respondents answered “I don’t know.”