HR event, Kraków, 30 March 2023

The meeting, for Małopolska-based HR directors and managers, presented new solutions in how to create an effective modern workplace. It also formed a platform for dialogue between representatives of local service-centre offices.

Urszula Kwaśniewska welcomed the guests on behalf of the BPCC, emphasising that the HR area is currently the most pressing topic for all BPCC member companies and to meet these needs, the chamber organises thematic meetings in many locations across Poland.

The introduction to the issue and the first presentation were from Łukasz Chodkowski, managing director of Déhora Polska. He talked about solutions in the field of flexible working-time planning, matching the individual needs of the employee and increasing their sense of inclusivity with the employer’s production plans. The changing work culture causes a growing need to belong to the workplace, and this causes the need to build partnerships with employers. Mr Chodkowski emphasised the role of partnership dialogue in the early phase of working-time planning as an element that eliminates possible future conflicts in the crew.

The next presentation showed a holistic approach to planning a modern office space. Maria Lorenc, an expert in ergonomics at Kinnarps, covered all the interconnected elements that affect the physical well-being of an employee. We live in an era of overstimulation, she said, and it is important to mitigate the impact of the environment on our health. This consists of many elements, including noise, colour intensity, etc. It showed how important movement is in the life of a person and an employee. For example, three hours a day of work standing up is said to give as much benefit as running ten marathons in a year.

On behalf of Lux Med, Marek Soleck and Bartosz Maj spoke about groups of diseases caused by stress and the classification of occupational burnout. In January 2022, the World Health Organization defined the disease as “chronic stress syndrome in the workplace that has not been successfully managed”. The programmes offered by the Lux Med in the field of medical consulting for companies and monitoring the lifestyle of employees to prevent problems at an early stage were discussed. The participants learned about modern hospital care for company employees which include completely forms of support such as sudden emergencies or births.

Lawyers from law firm PCS Paruch, Bartosz Wszeborowski and Kinga Ciosk, commented on legal aspects of employment. This part of the programme gave rise to the most questions from participants about the latest changes to the Polish Labour Code, implementing the EU Work-Life Balance Directive into national law. All the changes, related mainly to employment contracts and the granting of leave, aim at greater transparency and flexibility, and thus greater predictability of the employment process and work performance.

This was followed by a Q&A session moderated by Łukasz Chodkowski, who asked participants about their opinions about the idea of a four-day working week in Poland.

The BPCC would like to thank the partners of the event for their involvement in preparing this meeting. Please follow the BPCC events calendar where we will post invitations to the next meetings for HR management focused on creating employee well-being.

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