The financial premium, medical care and shorter week of work – these are the 3 most desirable worker benefits at the end of the year. The latest “Polish Labour marketplace Barometer” of the individual Service shows that although money is inactive crucial for Poles, wellness and balance between work and private life are gaining expanding importance.
Workers benefits at the end of the year – money counts
Employees in Poland anticipate higher incomes. Financial benefits enjoy the top interest in the wide scope of worker benefits. As many as 34 percent of respondents indicated the financial bonus as the most attractive benefit at the end of the year – according to the Polish Labour marketplace Barometer in December. This solution, which has the fastest and most perceptive effect on the home budget.
Further part of the text is under interview with Krzysztof Inglot, individual Service
The second ranking included medical care packages, indicated by 13 percent of respondents, and the podium closes a 4-day week of work, which selected 9 percent of respondents. The results show that, alongside financial expectations, it is increasingly marked need to take care of wellness and work-life balance.
“We have already seen very clearly in the erstwhile year that employees anticipate mainly money. At that time, there was an increase in wage and a bonus, followed by solutions that actually reduce the cost of living, i.e. subsidies for commutes or free meals. Only later did they appear benefits specified as a 4-day working week or extra days off. This year we observe a akin trend, but with fresh accents. The bonus is inactive number one, but medical care and shorter work week appeared on the podium. This shows that alongside financial expectations there is simply a request to guarantee wellness and balance between work and private life – comments Krzysztof Inglot, Labour marketplace expert and founder Personal Service.
Premium or work-life balance? Age and sex differences
Although the financial bonus dominates almost all groups, worker preferences vary according to age. Among people aged 55+, the premium as the most crucial benefit indicated as many as 43 percent of respondents. By comparison, in the group of youngest workers aged 18-24 it was about 20 percent.
Differences between women and men are besides visible. Males choose the financial bonus somewhat more than women (34 percent versus 33 percent). Women, on the another hand, emphasize the welfare benefits more clearly. The package of medical care is crucial for 16% of women and 10% of men, and 4 days of work for 11% of women and 7% of men.
Workers' benefits that are losing meaning
Further places in the list include services known from everyday practice of companies. The Christmas packages indicated 6 percent of respondents. Additional days off, co-financing for commuters, sports cards and meals at work were given 3 percent of the recommendations. Although these are not benefits from the top rankings, they combine 1 – they aid reduce regular costs of living.
At the same time, any benefits are virtually no longer applicable to employees. backing online entertainment, specified as streaming subscriptions, did not get any indication. The same was actual for the support of hobby and passion of employees.
Pay satisfaction inactive low
The popularity of financial benefits is straight related to the level of satisfaction with salary. Almost 1 in 3 employees in Poland declare discontent with their wage (29 percent). Another 35 percent of the surveyed responds that there is “a bit of satisfied and a bit of not”. Only 36% of respondents are full satisfied with the remuneration.
– The structure of benefits changes gradually, but consistently. What came actual a fewer years ago is no longer applicable today. Therefore, it is worth constantly examining extra-paying allowances and responding flexibly to what is truly needed by workers. In the “Barometer of the Polish Labour Market”, more than all tenth Pole declared that he did not find any benefit from the available list. It is simply a signal that the marketplace expects fresh solutions. In the following months, they can gain both simple mechanisms to relax, specified as additional vacation days or improvement initiatives, specified as training from fresh technologies, including artificial intelligence. The year 2026 could bring further shuffling to the benefit hierarchy, due to the fact that the labour marketplace is not in place – concludes Krzysztof Inglot.
Test methodology
The survey was carried out on Ariadna panel on a nationwide example of N=1077 people. The amounts were selected according to the representation of the population of Poles aged 18 years and more in terms of gender, age and size of the place of residence. The survey was conducted on 28 November – 1 December 2025 by the CAWI method.
