Majority of Poles fear salary cut: study

As many as 59 percent of Poles are afraid of a reduction in pay due to the coronavirus pandemic affecting the economy, while 38 percent are afraid of losing their jobs. In most cases, however, these fears are not yet confirmed by employers’ declarations, according to a survey conducted by IMAS International and commissioned by the National Debt Register (KRD), a Poland-based economic information bureau.

At least 57 percent of those surveyed at the end of March declared that they worked “normally as always”, and 14 percent performed their professional duties remotely, they said.

Nearly 16 percent of respondents were on leave (paid or unpaid), sick leave or care allowance. As few as 4.5 percent of respondents did not perform professional duties due to the closure of the workplace and did not receive remuneration as a result. This group was largely made up of women, the survey showed.

Fear of losing a job was found to be inversely proportional to the size of the company in which the respondents work. While those (48 percent) employed in microenterprises had such concerns, in large companies this percentage was 32. The same applies to concerns related to salary reduction, where the range was stated to be between 68 percent and 54 percent.

When asked about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the financial situation of companies in which they are employed, 50.5 percent of respondents said it was negative. The positive impact of the pandemic on the employer’s budget was noted by 9.5 percent of respondents. For 40 percent, the epidemic had no significance or impact on their company’s finances.

(ISBnews)