Hard data from 2025 leaves no doubt, and the average Polish worker spends 38 hours a week at work.
Polish full‑time, the EU leader in overtime
This gives us an unflattering, fifth place in the entire European Union. We are only surpassed by Lithuania and Bulgaria (at 38.6 hours), Romania (38.4 hours) and Latvia (38.3 hours).
When Poles clock in overtime, the EU average is a modest 35 hours a week.
On the other side you can find ultra‑efficient Netherlands, where work hours are just 29,7 hours a week, as well as Denmark (32.4 hours), Belgium (32.6 hours), Austria (33 hours) or Germany (33.4 hours).
The gap between extremes in the EU reaches a staggering 5.2 hours, and Poles work 3 hours a week longer, than the EU average.
Why is this? One reason is the complete lack of flexibility in the domestic labour market. In Poland part‑time work is still an absolute rarity, affecting only 6.2% of employees, while the EU average is 17,7%. In the Netherlands 42.7% work part‑time, in Austria 30.1%, and in Germany 29.4% (the lowest in Bulgaria – only 1.7%).
Interestingly, in Poland the time difference between full‑time and part‑time is only 1.2 hours, while in the Netherlands it is 6.6 hours. Flexible working time is not only a coveted work‑life balance, but also a great opportunity to activate older people, those with illnesses, or newly minted parents. We still suffer from an outdated culture of physical presence at the desk.
Read also: The crack in the British labour market. Companies are preparing for mass layoffs
Source: Polish Economic Institute.
See also: Alarm in the labour market. 43% of CEOs plan reductions among key employee groups
The business illusion, or the B2B trap
If you think full‑time employees are struggling, take a look at entrepreneurs. Combining the roles of owner and manager forces gigantic work, often across several full‑time positions at once.
In Poland in 2025 self‑employed people who hire employees worked 43.7 hours a week.
The EU average is 44.7 hours – leaders are French with 48.4 hours and Belgian with 48.2 hours, and Greek with 47.3 hours, while the least are Latvian (37.4 hours) and Estonian (37.9 hours).
It gets more interesting with micro‑firms without employees. In Poland they work an average of 41.4 hours a week. That is well above the EU average of 38.4 hours.
In the West, e.g. Germany it is only 33.1 hours, in Estonia 33.2, and in Luxembourg 33.5 hours. The Greeks work the longest – 44.1 hours a week.
Why do Polish micro‑entrepreneurs work slightly less than their EU counterparts in the same category? The answer is simple, apparent self‑employment.
Switching to B2B contracts with one client is a very common practice in Poland, motivated by taxes or even forced by the employer. Such a “entrepreneur” effectively performs the duties of a full‑time employee, working fixed hours, which artificially lowers the real working time statistics of genuine single‑person firms.
The key takeaway for investors and the economy is that long hours at work do not generate higher GDP or higher company valuations. The highest productivity in the EU is recorded in Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and France.
Yes, exactly those countries where employees work the least! Excessive burden leads to errors, frustration and most importantly, dramatic drops in productivity.
See also: 4‑day work week. This company from Silesia showed how to do it
Source: Polish Economic Institute.
