– 4 working days a week is unavoidable. Since the 1970s, working hours in OECD countries have only been shorter. You are the result of technological progress and increased productivity. Ahead is a great revolution entirely based on automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Andrzej Kubisiak, an expert from the Polish Economic Institute in an interview with Igor Janke on the open agreement, talks about whether it is possible to offer a 4-day working week and what the consequences are.

– The first free Saturdays in Poland are Gierek times. All free Saturdays were one of Solidarity’s assumptions in August 1980. It was only realized in the late 1980s, when the communist regime was already collapsing. Currently, the largest experiment with a 4-day working week is being carried out in Great Britain – says Kubisiak. – They check productivity in various industries – he adds.


Poland today is not ready for four working days a week. This is not the moment. We are at the stage of observing other countries and preparing the Polish economy. To get to 4 working days, you need to improve your productivity. This is a process that can take decades. There are sectors that are difficult to automate, such as construction – says the expert of the Polish Economic Institute. – He adds that the unprepared entry for such a week of work will lead to a decline in the competitiveness of the economy and a decline in GDP.

The more free time, the more segments of the economy benefit. Leisure economics is the economy of the future. This is the second work. It also fuels the “old economy”. This is a certain stimulus to demand – Kubisiak believes. – The more free time, the more space to spend money.

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What can a 4 day work week cause? Can Poland afford 4 working days a week? Why did the world stop at 5 days of work? Is there a risk of exacerbating social inequalities? Are we in danger of technological unemployment? About it all in an interview with Andrzej Kubisiak at Open Agreement.

Listen to the conversation on spotify.

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Author’s website: https://igorjanke.pl