Did you see what has happened in the United States this year so far? Donald Trump has taken a page from Elon Musk’s book, demanding that federal employees return to in-person work. No hybrid. No remote working. Full-time in the office from now on. We consider how this might affect the ability of HR professionals to still work remotely in 2025.
Donald Trump’s executive order to return to the office is intended to reduce the federal workforce through attrition. Elon Musk added his thoughts to the move when he was quoted by the Wall Street Journal last November:
“Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don’t want to show up. American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” Musk stated in the story.
Musk has already championed similar initiatives at Tesla, Twitter (X), and SpaceX. In June 2022 the tech billionaire declared an end to remote working at Tesla and SpaceX. He did the same at Twitter (now X) in November 2022. Musk has characterized remote workers as the “laptop class” who are living in “la-la land”. The problem is that this type of rhetoric doesn’t go down that well with HR people. Many HR professionals argue that Tesla and Musk-owned companies do not have a strong track record as good employers.
Should HR Professionals Show the Way Back to The Office?
HR teams were among the first to embrace the work-from-home culture introduced by the pandemic. They diligently learned to set up Zoom calls. To provide extra well-being support where necessary. Most importantly, HR professionals also learned to work from home—and to champion it.
Today many HR professionals are still championing work from home. In Poland, this is mainly those involved in recruiting, learning and development or general HR. Payroll teams can’t work completely remotely in Poland. It isn’t feasible due to the amount of paperwork that is still needed by various government agencies. This suggests that payroll professionals, in particular, have always favoured hybrid work over full remote work.
Now, Poland has a lot of U.S. investment. Just think JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, or VISA in Warsaw. State Street, Cisco, or Qualtrics in Krakow. BNY Mellon, 3M, or IBM in Wroclaw. In a report from June 2023 published by the American Chambers of Commerce in Poland and SGH Warsaw School of Economics it was highlighted how the value of the investment by U.S. companies in Poland corresponds to 4.1% of the value of Poland’s gross domestic product. A figure surpassed only by German investments in Poland.
Given that many HR professionals in Poland work for U.S. companies, can they resist the pressure to return to full-time office work?
How Popular is Remote Working in Poland Today?
In March 2024 the global consulting firm, EY, published a survey about work from home in Poland. There were some important statistics to consider from the results:
- 88% of companies who implemented a work-from-home policy have chosen the hybrid work model
- 46% of these companies require employees to be at the office, 43% chose two days and only 11% have a one day a week policy for office work
Interestingly, Polish law now grants remote workers a financial allowance for home-based work. This initially caused a problem for many HR people as it might have looked like the government was incentivizing people to work from home.
A 2023 report from the Polish State Labour Inspectorate (Panstwowy Inspekcji Pracy or PIP) for 2023 highlighted how companies are struggling to accommodate the legislative requirements needed to support work from home. 61% of companies inspected by PIP where work-from-home was part of the investigation had not implemented clear procedures for working from home.
HR professionals have clearly struggled to keep up with the changing global and Polish HR landscapes. The latest move in the U.S. will be another challenge to add to the list.
Is the Future Strategic HRM?
In August 2024 the UK-based CIPD published a factsheet about how strategic HRM works. The leading HR institution shared how “strategic HRM, or ‘people strategy’, is about creating a coherent framework for employees to be hired, managed and developed to support an organisation’s long-term goals. It helps ensure that the various aspects of people management work together to drive the behaviour and climate to meet performance targets.”
Gallup has also been looking into the topic. In the company’s insights about hybrid work, employee engagement was measured. It found that “remote-capable, on-site employees have experienced the largest drop in engagement since 2020.”
According to Gallup, “exclusively remote and hybrid employees tend to have significantly higher employee engagement than on-site workers”. Do business leaders know these statistics though? Does HR have the ammunition to counter what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing?
If these trends hold, a three-day office and two-day remote work model appears to be the most viable option for Poland. The question is how U.S. companies react to what is happening in Washington D.C., and how their response will affect HR professionals in Poland. Without the right data HR people may end up being blamed for the move. Instead, could they be thanked for standing up to trends and the needs of employees?
In Poland HR is Part of the Family
Poland is a family-oriented place. Family traditions. Strong support networks in people’s private lives. These are typical things about Poland.
The best way to approach the problems being faced by companies in Poland is to highlight how the most successful initiatives are a blend of two cultures. Many companies in Poland may have head offices located in the U.S., but most of these companies have had a presence in Poland for many years. These companies have employed HR professionals who help them understand what motivates Polish employees. And what doesn’t. Today Poland needs these HR professionals to continue to champion family oriented-ness. To continue to uphold the strong work ethic and professionalism of Polish employees. And not just bow down to any order that comes from the top.
If you want to discuss HR trends and challenges in Poland with our team, you can talk to the specialists at Verita HR who are all kept up-to-date on the most important topics and trends to affect the Polish and global job markets.
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About Verita HR News
Content at Verita HR News is brought to you in collaboration with the editorial team at Magazyn Rekruter. Magazyn Rekruter, a brand within Verita HR Group in Poland, is the longest standing recruitment and human resources industry magazine in Central Eastern Europe. The first issue was published in March 2010. Find out more at: Portal Branży HR i Biznesu (magazynrekruter.pl)
See Also:
What Does an Organizational Development Manager Do? – Verita HR
What are the Recruitment Trends you need to watch in 2025? – Verita HR
