Poles expect grim future amid recession, shows a survey published by Rzeczpospolita.
Press reviewed by Alicja Baczyńska
Polish employees are more stressed out than their Chinese and German counterparts, shows a study conducted by corporate research company Extended DISC, published in Dziennik. What is worse, the index has been steadily growing for a few years now. High stress levels are a backwash of ongoing recession; the group most exposed to the negative impact of the economic slowdown are the overly committed, overambitious, who take on too many responsibilities, yet have little influence over what goes on at the workplace, and lastly, those in pursuit of furthering their career by any possible means. Experts remind that experiencing excessive stress may have a seriously detrimental impact on one’s health, writes Dziennik.
Meanwhile, Rzeczpospolita, offers no consolation, claiming that Poles haven’t been this discontent about the country’s economy since 2004, ahead of joining the European Union. The survey on Poles’ views on the economic situation and unemployment in the country, sounded out by pollster Gfk Polonia, shows a slump in their predictions for the coming months. Up to 60 percent of the respondents have said the slowdown is likely to worsen, and 85 percent expect unemployment rates to continue growing. The sudden change in the moods of Poles was first registered in November 2008, though the financial crisis was by then already making the headlines across the country. A sociologist quoted by the paper claims the overwhelming pessimism is a response to persistent media coverage, an inconclusive bulk of forecasts concerning the country’s economy. All doubts were dispersed once the government initiated a major cost-cutting programme. The cited sociologist claims that since unemployment is a phenomenon directly concerning the respondents, the research proves just how harshly they perceive the current state of affairs and how radical their reactions may soon turn out to be.
Minting local currencies is all the rage across Poland, writes Polska daily. The trend concerns not only major tourist destinations such Krakow, Poznań, Sopot or Malbork, but also smaller cities and towns. Silesia, in southern Poland, is currently jumping on the bandwagon, with local currencies sprouting across the region. Ducats, denarii, and thalers have proved to be a hit among tourists, who may use the local tender to buy souvenirs or keep it as a memento. Yet these coins are no catch for numismatists, who would collect them only back when they were few. At present, solely unique series, such as the one featuring the effigy of Solidarity icon Lech Wałęsa, commissioned last year by the Gdańsk authorities, are of any significant value. “The popularity of local coins is based on fashion, while it takes a seasoned numismatist to take advantage of the current boom, and so buying them should not be treated as investment,” says an expert quoted by the paper.
A third of Poles downloads films, TV series, and programmes from the internet, writes Gazeta Wyborcza – and the figures may amount up to a half of the 15 million Internet users in the country. People tend to perceive the Internet as a vast supermarket with films, music, TV shows, books, computer games and whatnot. The sole difference is that they steer clear from the cash desks – with no qualms of conscience whatsoever. According to a recent survey a fifth of Poles does not approve of internet piracy, yet 36 percent see nothing wrong in it. Poles have become so brazen in their practices, that they even download files at work, with the use of the internet connection provided by the workplace. A company checking what employees and civil servants keep in their computers, has searched through over 50,000 of them – and surprise, surprise, not one single machine was clear of incriminating evidence – be it in major listed companies, telecommunications enterprises, banks, or state offices. Annual losses incurred only by software producers from internet piracy in Poland are estimated at 580 million dollars.