Culture Snippets: Poland

‘Culture snippets’ is our way of sharing snippets of insights into different countries. If you want to chat about how you can use these insights to inform your product and business decisions, feel free to get in touch.

#culturesnippets #Poland Unlike most Western states, has no colonial past, hence not as much long-standing ethnic diversity within society. Only recently did Polish society becomes more diverse, enriched mainly by migrants from post-Soviet neighbouring countries (Ukraine, Belarus, Russia), although foreigners still only account for less than 1% of the population today.

After being partitioned between Austria, Prussia & Russia, Poland disappeared from the map in 1795 for 123 years. Gained back independence in 1918. 20 years later, WWII & then Communism followed. Poland again became a democracy in 1989.

Over the last 3 decades, Poland has become the most successful economy in Europe, the only EU country that continued growing after the global financial crisis. This might be contributed by its Jakoś to będzie philosophy (pronounced ‘Ya-kosh toe ben-jay’) means ‘we will make it’, or ‘things will work out in the end without worrying about the consequences’. It’s about taking risks, getting out of that comfort zone, not being afraid. That makes it the perfect philosophy for tough times. To get things done & striving for change are held in high esteem throughout the country to date.

The Polish price-conscious mentality means they know their quality-versus-pricing relation.

Photos: Taken when we were on the ground helping our clients to understand more about their customers and markets in this country.