Olech has worked extensively on the taxonomy, biodiversity, ecology, biogeography and adaptations of lichenized and
lichenicolous fungi in mountains and polar regions. She has also worked on heavy metals and radionuclides contaminants of the Antarctic environment and other human impacts on terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems. She has described about 100 algae, lichens, fungi, lichenicolous fungi new to science. Olech was a research assistant at the Institute of Botany Jagiellonian University (1968-1971), where she organized the laboratory and herbarium of lichens. She was then appointed assistant professor at the Institute of Botany Jagiellonian University (1971-1986) and was promoted to associate professor (1986-1992) at the Institute of Botany Jagiellonian University, where she organized Department of Polar Research and Documentation. She became a full professor of biology at the Jagiellonian University in 1992. She is also the curator of the Jagiellonian University Cryptogamic Herbarium, is the president of the editorial board of
Polish Polar Research, the president of Team of Biology and Development of Polar Landscapes within the Committee on Polar Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Olech was the head of the
Polish Antarctic Station from 1991-1993 and then again from 2005-2006. She was the head of the Zdzisław Czeppe Department of Polar Research and Documentation, Jagiellonian University (1996- 2011). She has participated in and led several Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. ==Awards and honours==