A little respect

Better wages are not the only reason Poles go to Britain and Ireland to work, says a recent report on entrepreneurship by Grant Thornton International.

"In Britain people are treated as members of the team and even young people are given important tasks," says Andrzej Kinast, managing partner at Grant Thornton International. "They combine the knowledge and enthusiasm of young people with the experience of the older ones. Young people don't have to get 20 years' experience in order to have something to say. In Poland graduates don't have the right to have their own opinion. That's what they like about Britain."

The problem doesn't only refer to state-owned companies but also to private ones. As an audit company, Grant Thornton International says it can see a dramatic change in the way employees are treated in companies that have been taken over by British, Dutch or German firms. Kinast gives examples of members of accounting departments who do not know what the rest of the company does, including any production activities.

"Before a foreign investor enters a company, the approach towards employees is very negative and the entire management is very arrogant to low-rank workers, not letting them feel like part of the team. Instead, they make them feel just like a workforce without an independent opinion. Generally, there is a lack of acknowledgment of others' work," says Kinast.

The poor labor culture as well as growing wages mean many employers feel less secure about their businesses. Bogusław Szulc, president of FUD SA, says his company would make more profit if he could find the welders he needs. "I would employ anybody with the necessary qualifications from Poland, Ukraine or any other country," says Szulc.

Generally, however, Polish entrepreneurs are more optimistic about their companies than in 2004, when the number of pessimists was almost a third higher than the number of optimists.