About project – Projekt

Project aims and objectives

The main aim of the project is to develop tools that support the implementation of working time reduction.

This aim will be achieved through the delivery of two specific objectives.

The first objective of the project to develop tools that encourage and support voluntary initiatives undertaken by organisations in both the private and public sectors to implement working time reduction (Working Time Reduction Readiness Assessment Tool). Based on an assessment of employers’ concerns and employees’ expectations, the project will propose practical solutions to facilitate changes in working time arrangements within organisations.

The second specific objective is to develop recommendations that support public institutions in designing and implementing policies promoting working time reduction.

Project Activities:

• Identifying and systematising existing knowledge on the impact of working time reduction on employees’ mental wellbeing, health, and social functioning.
• Analysing the legal and economic implications of working time reduction.
• Identifying employers’ concerns regarding the implementation of working time reduction, including workforce capacity, costs, business continuity, and access to knowledge and practical guidance.
• Examining employees’ expectations of different working time reduction models, taking into account factors such as gender and social roles.
• Identifying and analysing existing good practices in public and private sector organisations, as well as legislative and institutional approaches adopted by countries that have already introduced working time reduction.
• Developing a repository of good practices, including sustainable organisational solutions and implementation approaches that address employers’ concerns and employees’ expectations regarding working time reduction.
• Delivering educational and awareness-raising activities, including training programmes for employers and the National Labour Inspectorate.
• Preparing information and promotional materials highlighting the costs and benefits of working time reduction.
• Conducting an information campaign encouraging public sector organisations to adopt shorter working hours as a way to strengthen their attractiveness in the labour market.
• Developing evidence-based recommendations to support the implementation of working time reduction.

The project has both a diagnostic and implementation-oriented character, with its primary outcomes being practical tools that support employers and contribute to a more flexible labour market in response to demographic change.

Project timeline: trom diagnosis to implementation

Project partners:

Institute of Labour and Social Studies (Polish: Instytut Pracy i Spraw Socjalnych – IPiSS)

The Institute of Labour was established in 1962 and was transformed into the Institute of Labour and Social Studies (in 1972. Today, it is Poland’s leading research institution specialising in interdisciplinary studies on labour, employment, and social policy.

IPiSS conducts research across a broad range of areas, including employment and the labour market, labour supply and demand forecasting, human resource management, social security systems, particularly social insurance and social assistance, as well as the social economy.

The Institute’s research staff comprises highly qualified experts with extensive academic and research experience, providing a strong foundation for delivering projects of strategic importance to Poland’s social policy. Research priorities are aligned with the country’s current social and economic policy needs.

IPiSS operates through two main research divisions: Social Policy and Employment & Labour Market.

Within the Employment & Labour Market Division, experts oversee the development of the Internet Job Offers System, a unique platform that serves as a key source of labour demand data for the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, as well as for regional and local labour offices across Poland.

The findings and expert analyses produced by the Social Policy Division support both central and local government authorities. These include the calculation of minimum consumption baskets used to define the thresholds for extreme poverty (the subsistence minimum) and the social minimum. The Institute also regularly prepares analyses for the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy to determine the social intervention threshold and the income support threshold for families.

Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy (Polish: Ministerstwo Rodziny, Pracy i Polityki Społecznej- MRPiPS)

The mission of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is to create the conditions for improving quality of life through effective policies in the areas of family, employment, and social protection.

In the field of labour policy, the Ministry is responsible for key areas including labour law, employment and unemployment prevention, coordination of public employment services, the statutory minimum wage, employees’ rights and obligations, and regulations governing working conditions. An important part of its work is promoting decent and safe work, including reform of the National Labour Inspectorate and measures to prevent workplace bullying and harassment. The Ministry has also launched a national pilot programme on working time reduction while maintaining employees’ pay, involving businesses and public institutions from across Poland.

The Ministry also supports families at every stage of life. Its initiatives range from parental leave for new parents and the expansion of childcare services for young children to monthly financial support through programmes such as Family 800+ and Active Parent, as well as assistance with school starter kits under the Good Start programme.

In addition, the Ministry focuses on supporting people in need by promoting equal opportunities for persons with disabilities, fostering the development of the social and solidarity economy, and strengthening social dialogue between employers, employees, and public institutions.

Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute (Polish: Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy – CIOP-PIB)

The Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute is Poland’s leading research institution dedicated to the comprehensive study of working conditions and their alignment with human physical and psychological capabilities.
The Institute conducts scientific research and development activities aimed at creating innovative technical and organisational solutions in the fields of occupational safety, health, and ergonomics. It also carries out a range of activities of strategic importance in support of Poland’s social and economic policy objectives, contributing to the continuous improvement of workplace safety and working conditions.

Project team

Prof. Marek Bednarski, PhD, DSc

Economist and expert in economic policy, with a particular focus on labour market issues. His research has covered the forecasting needs of public employment services, organisational changes affecting the labour market and the groups most impacted by these changes, labour market precarity, and employers recruiting migrant workers. He is the author or co-author of more than 300 scientific publications.

Role in the project: Labour Market Expert.

Joanna Bugajska, MD, PhD, DSc (Professor at CIOP-PIB)

Head of the Department of Ergonomics at the Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute. A physician specialising in occupational medicine and internal medicine, her research focuses on the impact of psychosocial and physical workplace factors on human health.
Role in the project: Responsible for analysing the health impacts of working time reduction.

Katarzyna Hildt-Ciupińska, PhD

Holds a PhD in Education. Her research interests include workplace health education and health promotion, work–life balance from the perspective of employees’ age and gender, as well as issues affecting older workers and people with disabilities in the workplace.
Role in the project: Analyses the impact of working time reduction on employees’ health and lifestyle.

Anna Jawor-Joniewicz, PhD

Economist and sociologist, Assistant Professor in the IPiSS, expert at the Labour Market Analysis Institute, and lecturer in diversity management at the Warsaw School of Economics. She specialises in human resource management, diversity management—including age management—and labour market research. She is the author of numerous scientific publications in these fields.
Role in the project: Expert in human resource management research.

Joanna Kamińska, PhD, Eng.

Deputy Head of the Department of Ergonomics at CIOP-PIB, ergonomist and biomechanist. Her work focuses on musculoskeletal workload, ergonomic workplace assessment, and evaluating the functional work capacity of older workers and people with disabilities.
Role in the project: Project Manager responsible for activities carried out by CIOP-PIB.

Wioleta Klimaszewska, MSc

Head of the Promotion and Implementation Centre at CIOP-PIB. She is responsible for communicating occupational safety and health issues, organising and coordinating information campaigns, and liaising with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work as well as national and international partners.
Role in the project: Responsible for dissemination and outreach activities.

Iwona Kukulak-Dolata, PhD

Economist, Assistant Professor in the Employment and Labour Market Division at the PiSS and in the Department of Economic Policy at the University of Łódź. As a labour market expert, she prepares analyses and reports for central and local government authorities. She is the author of modular training programmes for Public Employment Service staff and has participated in numerous research projects, including Polarisation of the Polish Labour Market in the Context of Technological Change, Labour Market Segmentation: The Case of Poland, Equal Opportunities in the Labour Market for People Aged 50+, and Evaluation of the Implementation of the Flexicurity Model in Polish Labour Market Policy and Recommendations for Further Action. Since 2007, she has collaborated with the European Network of Regional Labour Market Monitoring.
Role in the project: Project Manager.

Izabela Marcinkowska, PhD

Socio-economist with more than 17 years of research experience in labour markets, social protection, and just transition. She specialises in the labour market integration of vulnerable groups, including NEET youth, older workers, and migrants. She has prepared expert analyses for the European Commission, the European Parliament, and CEDEFOP. Her research combines quantitative methods, including microeconometric data analysis, regression modelling, and structural forecasting, with qualitative approaches such as in-depth interviews (IDI) and focus group interviews (FGI), using software including Stata and SPSS.
Role in the project: Labour Market and Social Policy Expert.

Jolanta Maj, MA

Graphic designer with many years of experience in developing visual communication materials related to occupational safety and health. She advocates clear, functional, and accessible design, with particular expertise in posters and graphic communication. She is the author of numerous illustrations, posters, leaflets, and brochures.
Role in the project: Development of graphic and visual communication materials.

Zofia Mockałło, PhD

Psychologist and researcher specialising in work and organisational psychology. Her research focuses on the relationship between the psychosocial work environment and employees’ wellbeing.
Role in the project: Analysis of the impact of working time reduction on employees’ psychosocial wellbeing and delivery of training activities.

Andrzej Najmiec, MSc

Occupational psychologist with over 32 years of experience at the Department of Psychology and Sociology of Work at CIOP-PIB. His expertise includes psychosocial working conditions, occupational stress, organisational culture, effective communication, support for employees with disabilities, and employee wellbeing in new forms of work.
Role in the project: Analysis of the impact of working time reduction on employees’ psychosocial wellbeing and delivery of training activities.

Karolina Pawłowska-Cyprysiak, PhD

Psychopedagogue of creativity and Doctor of Health Sciences. Her research interests include the employment conditions of people with disabilities and workers aged 50+, health promotion, health education, and lifelong learning.
Role in the project: Analysis of the impact of working time reduction on employees’ health and lifestyle.

Iwona Poliwczak, PhD

Sociologist and Doctor of Economics, Assistant Professor in the IPiSS. She specialises in employment policy research and has participated in numerous research projects focused on identifying skills and competency needs in local and regional labour markets, as well as developing new diagnostic tools for public employment services in Poland. She is the author or co-author of more than 60 publications.
Role in the project: Expert on Ageing Societies.

Piotr Szukalski, PhD, DSc (Professor at the University of Łódź)

Professor at the University of Łódź, affiliated with the Department of Sociology of Rural and Urban Communities and Social Change. He specialises in demography, social gerontology, and social policy. He is the author of more than 300 scientific publications, including over 140 articles published in leading academic journals.
Role in the project: Lead Expert in Gerontology and Social Policy.

Ewelina Tołkacz, MSc

Specialist at the Promotion and Implementation Centre of the CIOP-PIB.
Role in the project: Organisation of training programmes and implementation of dissemination activities for employers, public sector organisations, and the National Labour Inspectorate.

Izabela Warwas, PhD, DSc (Professor at the University of Łódź)

Professor at the University of Łódź. Her research focuses on human resource management, age management, diversity management, and inclusive socio-economic systems. She is the author and editor of more than 120 publications and has served as coordinator, expert, researcher, and auditor in numerous national and European Union projects.
Role in the project: Expert in Human Resource Management and Age Management.

Szymon Warszawski, MSc

Psychologist specialising in work and organisational psychology.
Role in the project: Analysis of the impact of working time reduction on employees’ psychosocial wellbeing and delivery of training activities.

Justyna Wiktorowicz, PhD, DSc (Professor at the University of Łódź)

Professor at the University of Łódź in the Department of Economic and Social Statistics and researcher at the IPiSS. She serves as Deputy Director of the Institute of Statistics and Demography at the University of Łódź and is a member of the Committee on Labour and Social Policy Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the ARIADNA Programme Council. Her research focuses on older workers in the labour market, lifelong learning, knowledge management, and the application of statistical methods in social and economic research.
Role in the project: Expert on Ageing Societies.

Grażyna Zboralska, PhD

Doctor of Law, Assistant Professor in the Employment and Labour Market Research Division at the IPiSS, and Legal Specialist in the Labour and Social Insurance Chamber of the Supreme Court of Poland. She obtained her PhD from the University of Łódź in 2023 with a dissertation entitled The Federal Labour Court of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Role in the project: Expert in Labour Law.