{"id":2063,"date":"2026-06-24T15:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T12:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/?post_type=report&p=2063"},"modified":"2026-06-26T13:18:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T10:18:24","slug":"workplace-stress-career-expectations-trust-2026","status":"publish","type":"report","link":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/report\/workplace-stress-career-expectations-trust-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Working in Ukraine in 2026: Stress, Career Expectations, and Trust at Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

The full-scale war, prolonged uncertainty, and constant stress continue to shape the working lives of Ukrainians. Against this backdrop, career expectations, attitudes towards professional development, and expectations of employers and managers are evolving. The second wave of Gradus’ dedicated HR study explores the psycho-emotional well-being of working Ukrainians, manifestations of stress and burnout, and the factors influencing employee engagement, professional development, and trust in the workplace.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Burnout: Symptoms and Psycho-Emotional Segments<\/h4>\n

Work remains the primary source of stress. While 49% of respondents reported experiencing moderate work-related stress in the previous wave of the study, this figure increased to 54% in 2026. Excessive workload remains the key driver, cited as the main cause of stress by 47% of respondents, up from 42% in 2025.<\/p>\n

The most common signs of stress and exhaustion include constantly checking news in messaging apps (62%) and on social media, even during working hours (45%), as well as sleep disturbances (40%). The situation is further complicated by the lack of open dialogue: in 55% of companies, mental health remains a taboo topic. At the same time, more than half of respondents (62%) report feeling psychologically safe at work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The study identifies several employee segments, ranging from “engaged and inspired” to “exhausted and demotivated.” The risk of employee turnover remains significant: 70% of the “exhausted and demotivated” group have considered leaving their jobs, while the figure reaches 50% among the “chronically overloaded.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Career Without Burnout: New Employee Expectations<\/h4>\n

Despite prolonged uncertainty, 70% of Ukrainians still want to develop and grow within their current workplace.<\/strong> At the same time, their understanding of career development is changing: employees increasingly associate it less with formal training programmes or leadership initiatives and more with the opportunity to work in a comfortable and sustainable way.<\/p>\n

The most desired forms of employer support for career development are flexible working arrangements (23%), expanding current responsibilities (16%), and assistance with more effective workload distribution (15%). Meanwhile, interest in traditional development tools, including training programmes and learning initiatives, continues to decline.<\/p>\n

The main barriers to career advancement are employees’ unwillingness to sacrifice other aspects of their lives (24%) and the challenge of balancing career aspirations with family responsibilities (20%). In contrast, organisational factors\u2014such as insufficient managerial support, limited visibility within the company, or a lack of meaningful assignments\u2014are becoming less significant as obstacles to professional growth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Financial reward and work-life balance remain the two most important workplace values (both at 43%).<\/strong> At the same time, almost all respondents understand their company’s mission and values (96%), while 89% find personal meaning in their work. These findings suggest that, for most Ukrainians, career development is becoming less about climbing the corporate ladder and more about achieving professional fulfilment without sacrificing work-life balance.<\/p>\n

Trust in Leadership as a New Driver of Employee Retention<\/h4>\n

Despite prolonged uncertainty and high stress levels, employees demonstrate relatively high levels of trust within their organisations. Fifty-eight percent trust their colleagues, while 56% trust their company’s leadership. However, distrust remains higher towards management than towards colleagues (18% versus 12%), highlighting the continuing need for high-quality internal communication and transparent decision-making.<\/p>\n

When evaluating leadership, employees most frequently point to management’s competence in making decisions that affect the company (60%). More than half also say they can rely on their manager for support in difficult situations (58%), believe management is capable of leading teams effectively (57%), and consider it important for information to be communicated honestly and transparently (56%).<\/p>\n

At the same time, the findings reveal room for strengthening trust. Only 48% believe that management genuinely cares about employees’ well-being, while 46% feel that employees’ interests are sufficiently considered when managerial decisions are made. This indicates that today’s workforce expects leaders not only to demonstrate professional competence but also to place greater emphasis on the human side of management and employee involvement in organisational change.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00abThe study reveals an important shift in how employees perceive work. Despite high levels of stress and fatigue, most Ukrainians remain committed to their professional development. At the same time, they increasingly expect career growth not to come at the cost of constant overload or sacrificing other areas of life. In this environment, the quality of leadership becomes especially important. Employees build trust in their organisations through competent management, honest communication, and leaders who are ready to support their teams in difficult situations. These factors are playing an increasingly important role in shaping engagement, loyalty, and employees’ willingness to stay with their companies<\/em>\u00bb, says Evgeniya Blyznyuk, Founder and CEO of Gradus<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The full report is available on a commercial basis. Please submit a request using the form below.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The study was conducted by Gradus using a self-administered questionnaire via the Gradus mobile application. The target audience included men and women aged 18\u201360 who are employed full-time or part-time and live in Ukrainian cities with populations exceeding 50,000 (excluding temporarily occupied territories and areas of active hostilities). Fieldwork was conducted between 10 and 31 March 2026. The sample size comprised 1,200 respondents.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Insights from the second wave of Gradus’ HR study on employee well-being, career expectations, and workplace trust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2064,"template":"","report_cat":[4],"class_list":["post-2063","report","type-report","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","report_cat-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/report\/2063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/report"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/report"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"report_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gradus.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/report_cat?post=2063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}