It’s been roughly 10 years since we came out of the last worldwide recession. A recession that Poland was one of the very few countries to avoid. Thinking about the decade, I believe we can break them up into two periods: 2012-2020 and 2020-now.

The first eight years were perhaps one of the finest times for Polish businesses and economy — everything was thriving, investments were flowing into the country, infrastructure came head-to-head with Western Europe standards (sometimes even exceeding them) and living standards for many Poles improved. There were also some “hair in the soup” situations — political changes turning into a fight against the EU and a population split 50/50 that complicated (still do) decisions about short- and long-term perspectives for the country.

But the situation has never been too bad overall, in my opinion.

Then arrived the second part beginning with Covid-19. And after Covid followed the war in Ukraine, with inflation and growing interest rates at its heels. And now, there are talks about recession. These are tough times for many people and businesses, and we are still wading through the fog of confusion as to where we are heading (short-term). This moment in time is an opportunity. In crises, you learn who the real leaders are and the companies with intellect, innovation, quick adaptations and risk adversity will use the opportunity to take market share, attract talent from the competition and develop services to make client relations stronger.

DO NOT MISS: Through our special report included in this issue in cooperation with our long-term partner CEEQA, we look at the future of the workplace and workers' conditions and have researched thought leaders' input on how happiness at work improves company results.

MORTEN LINDHOLM

Three points to ponder from the past weeks:

1. Poland with one of the lowest unemployment rates since 1990 — 5.1% in May 2022! 

2. 2. In April 2022, Poland's retail sales increased by 21.1% y/y vs. 5% y/y in the EU.

3. Is a four-day work week with the same salary really going to work?