1. careers

Warsaw, 30 August 2012
PRESS RELEASE
“How To Make It Better And Longer…” The Economic Forum in Krynica
The French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland (CCIFP) together with Association
France-Poland and member companies – the biggest Polish insurance broker – Gras Savoye Poland
and auditing-consulting group – Mazars have involved in preparation of the panel during XXII
Economic Forum, aiming at forming an analysis of the balance between work and personal life
among managers of Polish companies. The panel will take place on 5th September at 10.30 am.
The outcomes of tests carried out by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development) were the inspiration for the topic of the panel. The findings revealed that Poles take
second place, after Koreans, with regard to the amount of time spent on work. Almost half of us
spends personal time for professional duties which unfortunately does not have an impact on growth
of productivity or quality of life.
The topic of the panel, perhaps not accidentally, arose from the French business environment. We
already know that France attaches great importance to social issues, protection of the employee and
his rights. It is French enterprise that successfully implemented 35-hour work week – says Monika
Constant, Managing Director of French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland. The
presidents of the co-organisers – Alexander Konopka, the President of Gras Savoye Polska and Michel
Kiviatkowski the President of Mazars, were invited to the panel. Maciej Witucki, the President of
Orange and senator Aleksander Pociej will make guest appearances at the panel as well.
Wojciech Eichelberger – the Director of Psychoimmunology Institute, who is in charge of the
implementation of the programmes aiming at improvement of work-life balance in Polish and foreign
enterprises will also be among the guests of the panel. “Programmes or trainings that help managers
to maintain proper work-life balance are considered as costs makers at first. It is only when
employees become more efficient, as they keep distant from professional burnout, are successful in
their personal lives and develop passions, that the benefits of such programme becomes evident and
their investments pay off. The employer, the state as well as the employee himself should take care
how to manage work-life balance longer and better.” – says Wojciech Eichelberger.
The discussion panel will be moderated by Kinga Rusin.
The topic is primarily the interest of the heads of large and medium companies. ‘I am very interested
in the issue, especially since I have to face it myself everyday – I am the president of two companies
in Poland and at the beginning of the year I became a president of a newly created branch of Gras
Savoye in Ukraine. Life spent on travelling between airports and business meetings has to be
balanced by strong family ties and fulfilment of hobbies. As a boss of the company it is not enough
that I am able to control my balance. It is very important to monitor the situation within the
company and to propose relevant solutions to other employees’ – says Alexander Konopka, the
president of Gras Savoye.
Participants of the panel will discuss solutions supporting work-life balance used in other countries,
including France, especially how they manage the balance and what ideas they have already
implemented in their institutions. Michel Kviatkowski who manages Mazars, auditing-consulting
company, summarises: “Living in the financial and economic world, as well as bearing responsibility
for developing good results in the company, I am focusing mainly on figures. Investing in solutions to
improve work-life balance simply pays off. Thanks to such approach the managers are more efficient.
Additionally, the work atmosphere improves – less stress and less unhealthy competition. More
efficient and successful employees are the flagship of the internal image of the company.”
Certainly experience and solutions presented by the managers of Orange, Gras Savoye and Mazars
may be able to be adapted and adopted in other Polish and foreign companies.
Moreover, the organisers of the panel have prepared a surprise for their guests– the inauguration of
an application to be downloaded on smartphones. The application aims to ascertain the appropriate
level of work-life balance and identifying remedial measures, for the events when the balance
between work life and personal life is disturbed. Substantial contents of the application were worked
out by IPSI.
The panel is the idea of Association France-Poland aiming at the integration of more than 10 000
graduates of French-speaking studies in Poland.
XXII Economic Forum in Krynica-Zdroj, 5 September 2012 at 10.30 am.
How to make it better and longer?
Are we more efficient working longer? Why and how do we take care of work-life balance? What do
we do to feel comfortable during and after completion of our professional careers and avoid
professional burnout?
Participants of the panel:
 Maciej Witucki – President of The French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland (CCIFP)
and President of Orange Polska; Chairman of Programme Council of Polish Citizen Forum
 Wojciech Eichelberger – Psychologist, psychotherapist and coach; co-founder and Director of
Psychoimmunology Institute in Warsaw
 Michel Kiviatkowski – Managing Partner of Mazars office in Poland
 Alexander Konopka – President of the Management Board of Gras Savoye Polska, Pol-Assistance
and Gras Savoye Ukraine
 Aleksander Pociej – Senator of The Republic of Poland, solicitor, Chairman of Polish-French Senate
Group
Moderator – Kinga Rusin
The French Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Poland (CCIFP) is an employers’
association bringing together over 350 companies with foreign capital, mainly French and
Polish. For 18 years CCIFP has been working for the interests of foreign investors by
acting as a platform for networking and for the exchange of business experiences and best
practices between companies, co-operating with many public and private partners.
www.ccifp.pl
Gras Savoye has been the first insurance intermediation group in France since 1992 and
since 2004 in Poland. Gras Savoye employs 3 800 persons and its network is composed of
100 offices in different parts of the word.
Gras Savoye in Poland employs 280 persons and has the turnover exceeding PLN
130 000 000. The group provides consulting, intermediation and management services for
all insurance lines such as property damage, motor, liability, life and other specialised
products. The Group provides complementary services: mass distribution of policies,
bancassurance, risk management, reinsurance, claims handling, assistance. Awarded by
six Business Gazelles and Forbes Diamonds.
www.grassavoye.pl www.gsdirect.pl
Mazars is an international, integrated and independent organisation, specialising in
audit, accounting, tax and advisory services. Mazars can rely on the skills of 12,500
professionals in the 56 countries which make up its integrated partnership. It is ranked
among top audit and advisory firms in Europe and in Poland.
Mazars has over 20 years of experience on the Polish market with two entities
employing 180 professionals in Warsaw and Cracow which offer Polish and foreign
companies from diverse sectors of economy a wide range of services including audit,
business and tax advisory as well as accounting, HR advisory and payroll.
www.mazars.pl
France-Poland Association (AFP), established in 1995, is a non-profit organisation whose
mission is to integrate the network of French studies' alumni in Poland counting more than
10 000 people. Through its activities, the Association largely contributes to fostering
French-Polish relations within the scientific, cultural and business environments. It also
promotes the French language. Its latest author's project dedicated to children learning
French, www.mowimypofrancusku.pl, has already more than 47 000 unique users.
www.afp.org.pl
CONTACT
Joanna Suszczyk
Marketing Manager
+48 691 015 025, [email protected]