Market transformation through the eyes of an expert. An interview with Anna Smaglowska, Manager in the human resources and payroll services department of Mazars Polska

Recent years’ events such as Covid-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war and inflation have taken a heavy toll on the Polish labour market. What kind of labour market are we facing now as a consequence?

Changes are enormous both from the employee and team manager’s point of view. In my opinion, the biggest changes were initiated by Covid-19 pandemic. In March 2020, both Polish and global employers faced one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. They had to secure the business continuity while taking special care of their employees’ health. In just a few days, work organisation had to be changed. And here a great solution turned out to be remote work, which has made itself comfortable in many Polish companies and everything indicates that it will stay with us for a long time.

Was remote work something new, did it strongly surprise employers?

It is difficult to give a definite answer to this question. Remote work had already appeared on the Polish labour market before. However, there was a perception that it was inefficient, hence its low popularity among employers. In addition, there was a lack of regulations governing work from home. In practice, remote work proves not only effective but is also greatly appreciated by employees. “Home office” gives the worker comfort in many areas of life. Commuting time or caring for a sick child is no longer a problem. Employers give their employees a lot of flexibility in terms of their private needs.

Remote work has also affected the recruitment market. Where it is fully possible to work remotely, employers have gained new opportunities to recruit employees. Recruitment has opened up nationwide, candidates have the opportunity to work for a company hundreds of kilometres away from where they live. For many, new career prospects have opened up. Legislation has also followed this trend. Regulations on remote work have been regulated and are currently being implemented.

However, the changes associated with the large-scale introduction of remote work are not only positive. I feel that remote work has strongly translated into relationships between co-workers. The lack of “face to face” contact is not a good direction for change. And “virtual” meetings can never replace direct contact with another person.

In addition to remote work, what else has impacted the labour market recently?

Poland’s rising inflation was also widely echoed, pushing up wage expectations. We are also noticing a greater openness of candidates to ongoing recruitment processes at competing companies due to the fact that they are seeking higher gratification for their work.

I think that the transformation that we are currently witnessing is moving in the right direction. However, we should bear in mind that a particularly important factor in team building is face-to-face contact which cannot be replaced by any new technologies.

Anna Smagłowska Manager in the human resources and payroll services department of Mazars Polska Sp. z o.o.

She has many years of experience in HR and payroll. She specialises in labour and social security law. She has acquired her professional experience both in firm providing HR & payroll services and in internal HR departments of companies with a dispersed structure.

At Mazars, she manages a portfolio of domestic and international clients, advising them on the strategy of development and implementation of optimal tools, she supervises payroll implementation using self-service employee portals and she is a technical mentor for her team.

She graduated from the Postgraduate Studies of Labour Law at the University of Warsaw. She has undergone a number of specialised training courses, including a course granting professional qualifications within the profession of HR and Payroll Manager according to the requirements set by the Accountants Association in Poland.

Last Updated on April 21, 2023 by Anastazja Lach