Data published today by ManpowerGroup confirms that as many as 69% of Poles are satisfied with their earnings, while at the other end of the scale, 29% would like to earn more. Interestingly, those who feel most financially fulfilled are people working remotely or in a hybrid model, while fully on-site work clearly lowers satisfaction with pay. Younger generations — Gen Z and Millennials — also report high levels of pay satisfaction. The responses also reveal a greater sense of dissatisfaction among women than among men.
According to the ManpowerGroup survey, the proportion of employees satisfied with their earnings currently stands at 69%. This is 7 percentage points higher than in 2025. A lack of satisfaction with pay is declared by 25% of respondents, compared with 30% last year.
As Rafał Mróz, labour market expert at Manpower, points out, both the fact that the number of people satisfied with their earnings is more than twice as high as the number of those dissatisfied, and the fact that this indicator has risen compared with last year, should be viewed positively.
“More and more people are satisfied because average wages are rising by more than 6% year on year. At the same time, inflation is twice as low as wage growth. This means that salaries are rising faster than prices, so in real terms employees have more money than inflation takes away from them,” he adds.
Does on-site work reduce satisfaction with pay?
The highest level of pay satisfaction is declared by people working remotely, at 79%, and in a hybrid model, at 75%. Slightly lower figures, at 70%, were recorded among employees who work mainly on site by their own choice. People working exclusively at the company’s premises, without the possibility of choosing their work model, assess their financial situation much less favourably, with only 57% declaring satisfaction.
“The first thing that definitely comes to mind is the type of positions held by people working in individual models and the level of pay received for such work. Hybrid and remote work most often applies to people in higher-level specialist positions. On-site work is performed primarily, though not exclusively, by employees doing simple or production work, where wages often do not exceed the statutory minimum. According to the data, in 2025, 13% of employees received the minimum wage. The rapid and significant increase in the minimum wage means that more and more people will receive such pay. It is therefore no surprise that people earning the national minimum most often declare a desire to earn more. The disadvantages of on-site work also include higher commuting costs and the time spent travelling,” says Rafał Mróz.
Younger workers and men rate their pay more positively
Men are more likely than women to declare satisfaction with their earnings — 71% compared with 66%. An age-based analysis shows that the highest level of pay satisfaction is recorded among representatives of Generation Z, at 84%. They are followed by Millennials, at 76%, and Baby Boomers, at 69%. The least satisfied with their earnings are representatives of Generation X, at 55%.
“In the case of women, it is impossible to ignore the gender pay gap in Poland. According to Eurostat data, it stands at 7.8% in our country, while the adjusted gap is as high as 21%. Women are more often dissatisfied with pay because they earn less than men. In the case of generations, this may result from two factors. First, young people more often work in new professions, for example in the IT sector, where pay is higher than the national average. Second, younger generations move more boldly around the labour market and change jobs more often — sometimes precisely because of higher salaries. Generation X is much less likely to decide to change jobs unless forced to do so, and is also less likely to move to larger urban centres, where there are more opportunities for better, more developmental and better-paid work,” the expert says.
Salary satisfaction by sector
Employees in the energy and utilities sector are the most satisfied with their earnings, at 91%, followed by those in IT and technology, at 85%. Three-quarters of Poles working in finance and real estate, as well as in transport, logistics and automotive, assess the level of their pay positively, with 76% in each of these sectors. The highest proportion of dissatisfied employees is found in consumer goods and services, at 34%, and in communication services, at 32%.
“The three sectors with the highest level of satisfaction are those where earnings are relatively high and where even lower-level positions offer pay close to or above the national average. In these sectors, the lowest-paid employees do not make up the clear majority of the workforce, unlike in the services sector, where rank-and-file, lower-paid positions dominate, while the share of managerial roles, which are characterised by significantly higher pay levels, is relatively small,” Rafał Mróz concludes.
Company size and salary satisfaction
The highest level of satisfaction is declared by employees of small companies, at 72%. In medium-sized and large enterprises, the figure stands at 70% in each case. The lowest level of satisfaction was recorded in micro-enterprises, at 57%. Interestingly, the highest proportion of neutral responses, as much as 17%, came from respondents working in micro-companies.
“Company size is not a factor that determines only the actual level of pay. To a greater extent, it affects the sense of financial stability and the subjective assessment of remuneration. Large companies often offer higher and more predictable salaries thanks to tools such as pay grids or benchmarking rates against market averages. This allows them to remain competitive, which, given their greater staffing needs, ensures an inflow of new employees. The highest satisfaction, observed in small companies, may result from the fact that interpersonal relationships, greater flexibility and the perceived adequacy of pay to work contribution play an important role there,” concludes the Manpower representative.
About the survey
The survey was conducted in October 2025 on a sample of 500 Poles.
