UNPAID WORK IN PRIVATE BUSINESSES AND NGOS - THE CASE OF POLAND

Many research studies have been focused on the consequences of the unpaid work that is categorizes as "non-economic work", and as a result not taken into account when calculating GDP. In this approach, the unpaid work is defined in the boundary of activities linked to the upkeep of living spaces and domestic goods, care for health or maintenance of social relationships, for which a person does not receive any remuneration. However, also institutional agents have recently got interested in wider use of unpaid work for business activities. The aim of the paper is to analyze the use of "economic" unpaid work in Polish family businesses and Non-Governmental Organizations. The analysis is of a descriptive nature and is based on secondary data collected within Labour Force Survey and NGO-related studies carried out in Poland. It revealed existence of noticeable differences between these two types of unpaid work as for socio-demographic features of individuals performing non-remunerated activities. However, it appeared that that unpaid work in both the family businesses and non-profit organizations is performed mainly by women in non-mobile age groups. It means, that this phenomenon affects groups facing significant problems with finding standard employment. Nevertheless, we conclude that unpaid work may be beneficial for workers and organizations if pros and cons are well-balanced. At present, the main "economic" benefits to individuals providing the unpaid work include gaining professional experience or keeping up the family business which brings incomes to the household.