Abstract:

The study presents the results of research conducted among Polish business leaders. The market situation of relevant companies was characterised against the background of competition, allowing the identification of conditions that form the framework of activities undertaken in terms of the establishment and maintenance of relations in the internal community. The main research problem was an answer to the question, do companies undertake the indicated activities to reinforce the employees’ bond with the company, and do they support the establishment of informal relations between employees. The self-assessment of the companies’ position on the market, their financial and asset situations and their development and innovation level allows the conclusion that it seems substantiated that one should find themselves in the group of Polish business leaders. The analysed enterprises seem to be in stable positions, suggesting that in terms of the employee-organization relationship, such enterprises are more keen to financially and organisationally engage themselves in work aimed at the reinforcement of the internal work community. It was expected that the studied enterprises exercise engagement in activities related to employee integration. However, in half of the relevant enterprises, no such activities were conducted. Among the others, the activities most commonly undertaken was to support joint activities of employees and their families, organisation of employee sports teams and encouragement to do volunteer work jointly. In terms of the issue whether relations between employees at the work place should be exclusively professional, and only then informal – formal relations dominated in the majority of enterprises.