zatrudniony

Zatrudniony is a Polish adjective and the past participle of the verb zatrudnić, meaning employed. It denotes a person who is under an employment relationship with an employer, usually on the basis of an employment contract (umowa o pracę) or another formal form of work arrangement. In general usage, the term highlights the status of having a job rather than simply performing work.

Grammatical forms include masculine singular zatrudniony, feminine singular zatrudniona, neuter singular zatrudnione; masculine plural zatrudnieni, and neuter plural zatrudnione. The adjective can be used attributively (for example, zatrudniony pracownik) or predicatively (for instance, On jest zatrudniony w firmie).

Usage and nuance: zatrudniony emphasizes the contractual employment relationship and is common in HR documentation, payroll, and legal texts. In everyday speech, however, people more often use words such as pracownik (employee) or osoba pracująca. The term contrasts with nieza zatrudniony or bezrobotny (unemployed) and with samozatrudniony (self-employed).

Etymology: zatrudniony is derived from the verb zatrudnić, which means to hire or employ; the prefix za- forms a perfective sense related to initiating an employment or putting someone to work.

Related terms include zatrudnienie (employment, the state of being employed or the workforce), and samozatrudnienie (self-employment).