2026-03-07 09:00
publication
2026-03-07 09:00
69 percent Poles believe that one must be sensitive to the needs of others and ready to help – a published CBOS survey has shown. A record percentage of 66 percent. respondents declare that they have ever done voluntary and unpaid social work for those in need.
In the latest survey, CBOS asked Poles about their attitude towards helping others and whether and to what extent they engage in aid activities. It examines this issue every two years, since 2002.
“This year, as in previous years, most Poles declare that they must be sensitive to the needs of others and ready to help,” we read. 69% of people have this opinion. respondents – two percentage points less than in 2024.
In turn, 23 percent believes that one should rather focus on one's own affairs, regardless of others (increase by 1 point).
Voluntary and unpaid work for those in need
In the study, 66 percent respondents declared that they had ever done voluntary and unpaid social work for people or communities in need. This is the highest result ever recorded – CBOS reported. The percentage of respondents who have not had such experience before is also record-breaking – it is 34%.
When it comes to pro bono work only in the last year, CBOS divided respondents into people who were active in the past year and those who were involved before 2025. “Although most people with experience in volunteering have not continued it recently, nearly every fourth adult Pole (24%) undertook unpaid activities over the past twelve months. The remaining 76% of respondents did not show any similar activity during this period,” according to the survey.
CBOS reported that the highest level of declarations of work for others provided in the previous year was recorded in 2020, when it amounted to 26%. “It later dropped to the lowest level so far (16%), which could have been caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, the 2022 study was conducted in February, before Russia's attack on Ukraine, so the data do not reflect the scale of help that Poles provided to Ukrainians,” we read.
CBOS added that almost seven out of ten Poles identify with the idea of altruism, and two-thirds of respondents translated these declarations into practice, which is the highest result in the history of measurements. The study shows that last year, almost every fourth adult performed unpaid work for others, spending an average of 19 days on it. This represents an increase of five days compared to 2023 and a return to the level of activity seen before 2020, it said.
The survey was conducted as part of the mixed-mode procedure on a representative sample of adult residents of Poland, drawn from the PESEL register, from February 5 to 16, 2026, on a sample of 967 people (including: 60.2% using the CAPI method, 24.1% – CATI and 15.7% – CAWI). (PAP)
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