Are Polish people absolutely obsessed with money?

Are Polish people absolutely obsessed with money?

If you work with Poles they probably do all the overtime availeable while the locals will only work some overtime or non at all!!!!!!! A local guy will be happy when he doesn't have to do overtime and a Pole will nearly cry. I would hire a Pole any day.

the local guy have a life , and the polish not .

Polish people have an unusual attitude towards money, I think. Whenever I mention to a Pole that I work in X place, they almost always ask me my wage and hours. Such a question would be seen as inappropriate by a British person.

The Polish man is in your country for money I presume. Therefore, he will/should utilize all his time towards his goal.

you are a disgrace for the british people . the Slave Trade has not finished and never will.

How about cow trade?

back on topic.... My father (100% Polish) is one of the hardest workers I have ever know. Non-stop at his job and when he has time off constantly tending to our yard, house, and property. Also very very good about saving money, paying bills, not making frivolous purchases, etc.

Really? I think you're talking ****, as English people have always been grabbers and will take any over time give to them. In fact, I dont get paid over time, yet I generally do at least an hour extra a day...

Where does this myth that Poles work harder come from, its simply not true, the Poles seconded to my office role in past 08:30 (start is 08:30) and leave on the dot at 5!

I'd hire a person who is willing to work hard, nationality doesnt come in to it!

oh i'm Polish and when other Poles ask me that i find it rude and nosey, and it is true they very often do ask that. funnily enough when you ask them back they either change the subject or tell lies!


yeah that, or the eastenders are on ha ha... i hate doing overtime!

The British way has you in its grip, you'll be saying damn and bloody hell instead of kuwva soon ;0)

But it is true, most Poles do not seem to think there is anything wrong with asking such personal questions, In the past Ive always just explained that its rude to ask such questions, usually met with a quizzical look.

oh no no no, kurva remains my favourite swearword ;)


teaching some people manners is like teaching an old dog new tricks

I agree with you, many people will take overtime when given to them but Poles are extreme in this case from my own experience, it may come from having little money before and being worried about money.

The Poles in your office reflect what someone else said, how much pay for how many hours. They won't do overtime for free if they don't have to. It is about how much they can get for the hours they put in.

Some Polish people working in different countries have poor conditions though, they have poor conditions and must do overtime for free.

Judging by Poznan the majority of poles here are obsessed with borrowing money to buy luxury products, finance for a television whatever next...

I am Polish and I hate working overtime and I never do my live is too precious to be stuck at work while I can spend time with my family

if you dont work hard then you will have nothing!!!1 house and 2 cars its nothing!!!everybody have that.so lazy men out of the pub and go to work to do overtime!!!

I can't help noticing your a woman giving that order.

And not every one has 1 house and 2 cars.

Yes I am but not at all ;). I'm working from 7oo to 18oo only. A lot of my friends work from morning until night 22oo-23oo. In UK I didn't take overtime because of better hourly rate.


Yes. They like to ask but don't like answer too ;)

Simple answer, yes i think they are, different people are driven or motivated by different things. I don't like to pigeon hole people and i feel i may be doing exactly that here, however my experience of the Polish is that they do have £ $ and Euro signs instead of eye pupils :). I'm not saying there is a problem with it, its just another driver or motivator.

I believe when(ever) we reach some level of wealth we start doing the same things as other nations. Traveling, sightseeing, developing hobby etc.

Yeah some of us have to go run after a bull in pamplona, dance flamenco with a manola, make paella, and let it all for MANANA MANANA!


Better hire a polish hard worker, than a lazy ass Spanish


Yeps cultural differences, it's just best to smile and say something like: not enough"
than going all a.r.se tight and screaming "it's ruuuude!!! when its just cultural differences.

As someone said before... money is often the only (or at least main) reason for moving abroad so I think that there is nothing unusual that many Polish people would be glad for an opportunity to work overtime for an extra fee. Another thing - I wouldn't ask someone how much s/he earns since it's not my business... on the other hand I wouldn't mind answering this question as I don't consider this as rude or sth.

Poles are completely out of their minds when it comes to money. Hence they are the richest people in the world. Bill Gates and the like are just faintly faithful imitations. Hence the ole' Polish sayings such as "time is money", "to keep up with the Jonses" and another one fairly known (expressed in a proto-Polish dialect) is "pecunia non olet" (money doesn't stink)

In all other countries people work for pleasure, for the glory of their nations and for the happiness of future generations. And all that for free. Those more conscientious don't work at all and survive on whatever the greedy hard working bastards drop of their tables. It's called welfare system.

When it comes to asking about wages, why would I even waste time on that in the West? Just look at the collective contract and see who makes how much, all in nice tables, subdivided into positions, years of seniority etc.

Mainly the ones that dont have any.

I would say most people in the capitalist world are obsessed with money.

Thing is it's not rude in Poland, it's normal. Most kids know how much their parents earn and family all know how much each other earn. We bought new bikes this summer and neighbours on all sides all asked us how much they cost. (A lot by local standards - coz they are nice bikes). Gdzie kupileś? Ile kosztował? Jak jeździ?

To answer the OP. YES. Poles are obsessed with money. If you have a conversation with a Pole and it lasts more than one minute, you can be almost sure that money will enter into it.

Having said that. It's not much different in other countries these days (apart from the intrusive questions). The whole world is money mad.

things change... it's not normal to ask about salary anymore. I live in Warsaw now and I would say that many people would feel uncomfortable if you would ask them about salary. Though I would say that asking thing like 'how much did you pay for it' it's still quite normal.

Still common in Zgierz though. We're probably a few years behind Warsaw. ;)

If you work 12 hours a day you don't have a life. It doesn't matter if you earn a lot, you don't have any time to spend the money. Some people work where very hard for a short time, if they want to buy something, travel etc., that's something completly different.


Yes, of course, these days you can see a lot of Poles go on vacation abroad, even outside Europe. Of course they want the same standard of life as everyone else.

funnily enough i havent met many polish women with 1 house and 2 cars and those who have got it from their husbands. not that i want to generalise


quite right

or "more than you"

Arrgh, yes. And I've had parents ask me to teach their kids and ask if I can give them a lower price because one of them isn't working... all in front of the kid! I cringed.

I think a lot of it is that, like cars, Poles haven't actually had the chance of lots of disposable income for many years. So (in both cases) subtelty and restraint are not always things they think about.

I think hunger and shortages create a deep folk-memory.