Abstract
Objective: For a long time Poland has been perceived as a rather homogenous society. However, cultural diversity and differences started to become visible after 1989 and have gained on importance since then. Combined with an increasing shortage of native workforce, the question of immigrants’ employment by Polish organisations becomes a burning issue. We have therefore decided to determine whether the fact of employing immigrants or the intention to do so in the foreseeable future affects the perception of foreign workers and the necessity of hiring them
Methodology: For this purpose, we conducted a survey among 263 entrepreneurs from the Opolskie Voivodship.
Findings: The study has demonstrated a very strong, statistically-relevant correlation between the willingness to employ immigrants and the attitude towards an employee’s country of origin. Also correlations between other analysed variables have been found statistically relevant
Value Added: The paper is an introduction to a debate on the role of immigrants on the Polish labour-market as it presents the point-of view of employers and their willingness to employ immigrants.
Recommendations: It is recommended for decision-makers to facilitate access of a wider group of immigrants to the Polish labour market, especially since a significant group of employees recognises the upcoming issue of workforce shortages and the necessity to reach for foreign employees in order to stay competitive.