Shorter working week or higher retirement age? Minister outlines choice

The Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy has long been an advocate of reducing working hours. In a speech on International Workers’ Day (May 1), she said that “work must leave us some time for life, for love, for ourselves and for family.”

– Yes, a four-day work week for the same pay is possible and we will fight for it. We work to live, not live to work – said the minister.

Shorter working hours may encourage people to work

At the Economic Forum in Karpacz she raised yet another benefit resulting from shortening working hours: the activation of seniors.

– If we want, for example, older people to remain active in the labour market voluntarily and for longer, we need to start a discussion on changing the terms of working time. Because the older we are, the faster we get tired. And this is not anyone’s fault. This is not a sign of laziness. This is simply how the human body works. And that is why in the ministry we are very carefully, very thoughtfully, with a very long time perspective, but yes, examining the subject of shortening and the possibility of shortening the weekly working time – said Dziemianowicz-Bąk.

She argued that fewer hours at work would make it easier for other social groups, such as young mothers, to reconcile different aspects of life.

– As a rule, people want to work, people want to be needed, people want to feel productive, people want to be appreciated for the effort they put into their daily activities – convinced the minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk. – Polish women and men, young and old, regardless of their views, are a very hard-working nation. So the answer to the question of what to do so that there is no shortage of hands to work and their hands to work is: give them a chance and create conditions.

Experiments on shortening working hours are already underway. Some companies are implementing them, and the mayor of Włocławek has also decided to do so. Here we write about how the work system of city officials will look like by the end of the year, and what will change from January.

Do Poles want to reduce working hours?

Almost half of Poles are in favor of introducing a four-day workweek, while maintaining the current salary, according to an IBRiS poll for Radio ZET. The most skeptical about this idea are 30-year-olds.

There is further confirmation that Poles are not very enthusiastic about shortening the working week in Poland.

IBRiS, commissioned by Radio ZET, asked respondents the following question: “Would you support the introduction of a four-day work week, while maintaining the current salary?” The survey shows that only 47% of respondents support this idea, of which 19.2% answered “definitely yes”. Less than 39% of respondents answered “no”, of which almost 24% answered “definitely no”. 14% of respondents have no opinion on the subject.