Polish Work Culture

So it's almost two weeks since I've come to Wrocław and started working.

Since arriving I have slowly started to get into a routine and life seems to have gone back to “normal”. You see, my day looks like this, I get up to the sound of my alarm clock (the Avondale-branded-one that I brought with me from Australia), I get up get dressed and have breakfast and then walk to work. I work all day and then walk home for a relaxing night at home where I have the options of reading (currently reading Jane Austen's Northanger's Abbey in Polish), watching tv, going out or simply sleeping.

In a way I'm finding comfort in this somewhat-boring routine because although I'm in a totally different country and although most of the things that I come across on my day-to-day encounters are so different and so foreign, I still fall into my predictable patterns of behaviour that make me feel like in a way nothing has changed. But in fact a lot has changed...

Take 'work' for example. As my friend has wisely noticed, people in Australia “Work to Live” while people in Poland “Live to Work”. Life in Poland is centred around work—the lack of it and the striving to retain it. During the last few days I've had the chance to observe a number of people and their attitudes.

The fear of not having a job influences the attitudes that many people. Young people study hard to ensure that upon the completion of their studies they will be competitive in the workforce and that they will get a job. Yet many, once they finish tertiary education, struggle to find employment due to their lack of experience, lack of positions in the job market and the number of competitors for the same position. With unemployment rates of 20% in some areas, there is definitely no shortage of people who want to work.

Those that manage to find employment, once in their place of work, do everything to make sure that they don't lose their position and that they do not provide their employer with reasons for dismissal. This sometimes means compromise on working conditions as well as unrealistic commitments towards work.

For me this has been a bit of a struggle. I'm used to the hour-long breaks for lunch where my team and I would go out of the office to eat and get to know each other. As well as the 15minute coffee- and afternoon-tea breaks where we could drag our eyes away from the computer and just relax. So for me to have half-an-hour break during an eight-hour day where no-one goes anywhere and where everyone eats their lunch at their desk (not even tearing themselves away from their work) is a bit of a change.

I also found that people's attitude towards “personal” as opposed to “work” time is also very strict. In Australia, I found management and employees to be more understanding when it comes to having to make a personal call or send a personal email. Here, in my opinion, people don't engage in any activity of a personal nature during work time for the fear that they may be reprimanded for it, which could ultimately affect their employment. And employers of course, wanting to get the most out of their employees, make sure that people do not take more than their legal share of “personal time”.

In a way I can see how firms may think that this is more beneficial to them, afterall they are getting their fair-share of “work time” out of the employees. But my question is, “Are they really getting their time?” Studies show that people need to take regular breaks for their brain to work at the best capacity, otherwise people become less efficient. Also, for me, social interactions at work are a motivating factor which encourages me to work for the benefit of fellow employees and the organisation.

Just last week, a friend from work shared a story with me which typifies the task-orientated mature of workplaces in Polish workforce. Every day a lady working for a government agency would pull-out a pile of paper notes which she had to write up on the computer. She had a certain number of notes to do during the day. If she happened to get through them too quickly, she would simply delete the work and start again so that when the boss came to give her another task she could honestly say that she didn't finish her current task. You see, I believe that if this lady had something to motivate her (other than money), she would have been able to do twice as much, but when there are no incentives, what's the use of trying harder than you have to.

But then there is also the fact that over the many year where this has been happening, Polish people have come to know this type of work environment as normal and typical and can no longer comprehend or feel comfortable in any other work environment.

As I was talking to a friend at work about the amount of paper-work that our local people have to fill out, I mentioned that it is easier for people to get used to less paper-work than try to teach them to follow new controls and rules. Yet I was surprised when my friend said “In Poland it doesn't work that way. People thrive in beaurocracy. They don't know how to live without it, and in the absence of it they create their own. I find it interesting how the work culture first enforced by the autorities has now transcended that it no longer needs to be enforced but has become intrinsic to the work culture.

Anyways, I'm sorry if I have bored you with my reflections. As I read through them I figured that I could probably submit this as an essay for an “Occupational Behaviour” subject. LOL. Sorry. I just find this quite interesting. At uni they told us that we should never stop learning...I guess they have managed to indoctrinate me with that theory. LOL.

I'm hoping to write some more later on this week as well as to put up some photos of Wrocław town square. It is truly beautiful.

Arriving in Wrocław

After a few delays and changes to the original plan, I finally made my way to Wrocław on Tuesday afternoon. It took us 6 hours on the train to get here from Warsaw , but it was a comfortable ride and I had a good time picking my new boss' brain about the way that ADRA/ChSCh works in Poland.

I did not know what to expect when I arrived in Wrocław but one thing that I certainly was not expecting was the shock that I got when the realisation hit that I have moved here to stay (at least for the time being). And this realisation did not hit me until I walked into the apartment where I would be living.

"What have I done?" was my first thought. Don't get me wrong, I did not doubt whether i wanted this, it was just that up until then it still felt like a holiday.

It wasn't until I was being told, "And this will be your room, this is the kitchen and bathroom...", that I was like "What was I thinking?", but thankfully by that stage it was way too late to chicken out, like I sometimes do when things get too difficult.

Over the last few days I have slowly fallen into a routine, and am slowly getting used to everything. I'm slowly getting used to the tiny apartment that I and Irene, an elderly lady from church share on the 4th floor of one of the apartment comlex's (and when I say tiny, I mean tiny). The cold outside and the need to allocate 5 minutes just to get dressed before I leave the apartment each morning. The excessive walking that I'm doing, because the distance to work does not warrant spending the money on transport, yet does require that I leave 40 minutes before work starts. The walking and driving on the other side of the road and making sure that I look the right way so that I don't get run over. The need to say "Good day" to the shop owner as I enter each store (I quite like this one, although it requires me to be social even if I don't feel like it). The new workplace which is quite friendly, yet so unlike my work at ADRA Australia (I miss you ADRA Aust guys). And the constant need to speak and think in Polish (I'm slowly getting a handle on this as well).

So as you can see life here is quite different. But I seem to be enjoying it. The other day, I even got a surprise. It started SNOWING!!

It's been over 15 years since I saw real snow falling from the sky--not just lumps of slush like at Thredbow. So I'm sure you can imagine my excitement. It was beautiful. The night had just fallen, the street lights were lightly illuminating the falling snow, the traffic had died down while I was warm inside looking out from my 4th story window at the world below me. I must say, it's was a picturesque moment. If I could, I would take a picture and ingrain it in my memory. But pictures never look as beautiful as they are in real life. So I just have to enjoy the moments while they last.

And it is moments like these that remind me why I wanted to come and visit the country of my birth.

22nd March 2011

It's been almost a week since I wrote. And there's been so many things that I wanted to share about. I guess after a week everything is put into perspective and the things that seemed to be impressive are no longer as impressive as first thought. But there is one thing that I found amazing and I have to share with you.

If you know me well, you'll know that I love going to places where I know that there were people looking at the same thing many years ago. Well, on Saturday (11th) and Sunday (12th) while I was still in Warsaw I got to walk through the section of the city of Warsaw where the Jewish Ghetto used to be. I even saw the place where the wall stood that seperated the Ghetto from the rest of the city, and where so many people were shot in cold blood.

To tell you the truth, it was hard. I don't cry, as most of you know, but I did secretly shed a tear. How could I not when I was looking at a building where families had been shot dead in cold blood, where lives were destroyed and families split never to be united again, where people would be packed into wagons like sardines and taken to be exterminated like vermin. Just the thought of it makes me sick. How could people have been so evil?

As I walked down the street peering into the windows and alleyways of the derelict building that have been sanctioned off for renovation. I was sad, but not only for the tragic history and the pain that so many people had to endure--I can't even imagine the pain--but for the fact that soon those buildings would be changed, renovated, re-newed.

In a way I understand that the buildings need to be renovated and rebuilt. It's logical that updates to the buildings need to be made simply for health and safety of the public. But you see, when these changes will be made I won't be able to say that I touched the same brick that someone running away from the Gestapo would've touched. It's not so much the physical building, it's about the link that they provide between me, a person living in the 21st Century and those that have come before me and endured hardships just so that I could say that I am free.

Warsaw has many buildings and beautiful places to offer, but as my friend pointed out, most of them are not the originals. During the war most buildings were blown up by the enemy with the aim of eradicating Warsaw from the map of the world. Warsaw once used to be the envy of many, it used to be called the Paris of the east. The fact that there are so few original buldings, makes all the buildings that remain, all the more precious and priceless. At least in my eyes.

First Week in Poland

My first week in Poland has been varried. I have tried to write a bit during the last few days but I have either been interupted or have been too exhausted to write. So I'll include some of my impressions as snippets of my writing and reflections.

15th March

My first week so far has been quite relaxing. I haven't formally started work yet so I've had some time to do some sight-seeing and to spend quality time with family and friends. I've also had a chance to learn a bit about my culture and to emerge myself in the Polish language. I've been loving it. It still doesn't feel like I've moved here. It still feels like I'm on holidays, probably because I've been doing some touristy things. It's actually quite fun.

The other day I went to the Museum of Fryderyk Chopin. Chopin was one of the most famous composers, piantists and music teachers of the Romanic music that the world has seen to date. Many people have heard of Chopin and his music but not many people know that he was of Polish and French descent, interesting combination if you ask me.

Polish people are very proud of the rich heritage of music that Chopin brought during the 17th Century and of the impact that his music is still having on the world today.

Previous to my visit to the museum I have only heard snippets of Chopin's music but haven't had a chance to appreciate the art that he brought into this world. But as I sat there in the museum, in specially-made sound caves, I came to appreciate the artistic nature of Chopin's music. It amazed me how Chopin was able to encapsulate the essence of a nation, the people and the customs in a piece of music that is so beautiful and so heartful. As I listened to Poloneise I felt like the music spoke of the simple life of Polish people, their joyous outlook and willingness to celebrate life, the cheekiness of my people and so many elements that are so familiar to me yet are so hard to describe. In a way, I guess I felt like the music defined me --the person I am and the person that I want to be.

After that visit I vowed that I want to go to a concert. My friend told me that during summer they have out-door concerts in the Łazienki Park in Warszaw. So the plan is to go there and see one of those concerts. Like I said it's truely beautiful.

Welcome to My Year of Adventure

Since I was 18 years old I had a dream of moving to Poland to get know my Polish culture better.

I moved to Australia in 1996, which is 15 years ago. At that stage I was only a young girl of 11 years. Life for me was all about piggy tails, school and playing with friends. At that age I did not take notice of things such as culture or tradition, things that I now feel are something that I have missed out on over the years.

Elements of my heritage are ingrained in me, yet I long to know what they mean, where they originate and how have they helped to form who I am today and what I hold dear. So my aim for this year is to learn as much about my own culture while living in Poland.

I also hope to travel as much as I can, as it's something that I love doing and something that helps to form more of who I am today.

So over the next 12 months, I hope to share stories with you about my experiences, about the people I encounter, about the places I believe you should visit and the reflections that I come to as a result of my adventures.

I hope that you enjoy these posts. Feel free to leave comments, to ask questions and to offer advice. I want to make this blog a place where I can not only share about my experinces but about making these experinces yours as well.