Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Poland’s youngest employees are approaching the labour market with a combination of caution and ambition, with almost seven in ten planning some form of action to increase their income over the coming year, according to the latest Polish Labour Market Barometer from Personnel Service.
The findings suggest that Generation Z is not necessarily expecting economic conditions to improve on their own. Instead, younger workers appear increasingly prepared to negotiate higher salaries, move to better-paid positions or supplement their income with additional work.
Among respondents aged 18 to 24, 35% described their current professional situation as good and another 9% as very good. A further 41% regarded their position as neither particularly positive nor negative. Despite this relatively stable assessment of current conditions, expectations for the coming year are considerably more restrained.
Only 15% expect their professional situation to improve over the next 12 months, compared with 17% anticipating deterioration. Almost half, at 48%, expect little significant change. The figures indicate a generation entering the labour market without particularly strong expectations that improving economic conditions will automatically translate into better career prospects.
Instead, younger workers are looking for ways to improve their position themselves. Some 28% intend to ask their existing employer for a pay rise, while 26% plan to search for a better-paid job and 15% expect to take additional employment. Taken together, the survey indicates that close to seven in ten are considering at least one route towards increasing their earnings.
Salary dissatisfaction provides part of the explanation. Around 39% believe their current remuneration does not properly reflect their responsibilities, although 56% consider their pay broadly or fully appropriate for the work they perform.
The findings also challenge the idea that younger employees make employment decisions predominantly around salary. Higher remuneration remains the strongest incentive to change employer, cited by 52% of respondents, but commuting has emerged as an important consideration.
A shorter journey to work was identified by 43% as something that could encourage them to change employer, making it the second most frequently cited factor. Better overall working conditions followed at 39%.
The significance attached to commuting indicates that younger employees increasingly calculate the cost of employment in terms of time as well as money. A position offering a slightly higher salary may become less attractive if it requires substantially longer daily travel, while an employer closer to home can effectively return several hours of personal time each week.
This has implications for companies deciding where to locate offices and other workplaces. Accessibility by public transport, proximity to residential districts and the availability of services around a workplace can become part of an employer’s recruitment proposition, particularly when companies are competing for younger employees.
“For years, Generation Z has been discussed mainly in terms of work-life balance, but behind this is an increasingly practical calculation,” said Krzysztof Inglot, labour market expert and founder of Personnel Service. He argues that younger employees increasingly assess employment according to the combination of earnings, commuting time and its effect on everyday life.
Flexibility is another important part of that calculation, although the survey indicates that Generation Z does not equate flexibility exclusively with working from home. Flexible working hours were preferred by 52% of younger respondents, while 33% identified additional days off and the same proportion favoured a shorter working week. Remote working on selected days was preferred by 26%.
The results suggest that employers seeking younger workers may need to think beyond the traditional competition between office-based and remote employment. Control over when work is performed can be as important as control over where it takes place.
Generation Z also appears willing to invest in improving its position. According to Personnel Service, 67% of young respondents intend to acquire new skills during the coming year. This is particularly significant at a time when technological change, including the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence and automation, is altering the skills required across many occupations.
The combination of skills development and willingness to change employers could increase competition for younger workers with sought-after qualifications. Companies unable to provide salary progression, development opportunities or flexible working conditions may find retention increasingly difficult even if employment conditions remain generally stable.
The findings also carry implications for commercial real estate. If commuting time becomes a more important consideration in employment decisions, workplace accessibility could have a greater influence on occupier strategies. Offices located close to public transport, residential areas and everyday amenities may provide employers with an additional recruitment advantage.
At the same time, demand for flexibility could continue to influence workplace design. Rather than eliminating the office, younger employees’ preferences could strengthen demand for workplaces that are easier to reach and provide greater flexibility around when employees use them.
Personnel Service’s findings are based on a survey conducted through the Ariadna nationwide research panel between 29 January and 3 February 2026. The employee sample comprised 1,089 people working under different forms of employment or operating their own businesses.
The results present a more nuanced picture of Generation Z than the frequently repeated assumption that younger people are less committed to work. They indicate instead that younger employees are actively evaluating the economic and personal return they receive from employment.
For employers, salary remains fundamental, but it is increasingly only one component of the employment proposition. Commuting time, flexibility, working conditions and opportunities to acquire new skills are becoming part of the same calculation. In a labour market where younger workers are prepared to negotiate or move rather than simply wait for conditions to improve, employers may increasingly have to compete not only for employees’ skills, but also for their time.
