“We don’t ‘make dumplings’ — our work doesn’t require physical presence or micromanagement.” Do Ukrainian IT employers require IT professionals to return to the office?

In the IT sector, we have learned to work remotely well, also taking into account the peculiarities of our business — working with clients located in other locations, working in mixed teams with specialists from different countries, etc. Back in 2022, an average of 75 to 90% of our colleagues in internal surveys responded that they were working with 100% productivity. At the same time, the level of customer satisfaction with the company’s work (NPS) demonstrates high indicators every year, which is also confirmation of the effectiveness of our work. So the remote format did not have a negative impact on the business and, on the contrary, became a support for the mental health of our employees.

Currently, the average office occupancy rate in Ukraine is 20-24%. Despite this, most of our offices in Ukraine are operating as usual, and they are now becoming a place for meetings, team collaborations, team building, and brainstorming.»

We have colleagues who come to the office every day, and there are those who come from time to time — it’s purely by choice. To maintain team spirit and allow people to spend time together offline, the HR team and I periodically organize various events right in the office. This is a good opportunity to feel the office vibe, communicate live, and just recharge a little.

Fortunately, we have not yet encountered cases where candidates refused to cooperate precisely because of the work format — probably because we openly talk about opportunities from the very beginning and do not create rigid frameworks.

For the vast majority of positions, we do not have a requirement to visit the workspace. However, we notice that more and more specialists themselves do not mind sometimes working offline in a location. To provide them with the opportunity to feel the «working» atmosphere, back in 2023 we opened 15 hubs in large Ukrainian cities. You can come there and work as in a coworking space, chat with colleagues, and drink office coffee.

We also have two permanent representative offices of the company — in Lviv and Kharkiv. Moreover, in Kharkiv we have equipped a protected underground workspace where you can hide during an air raid, enemy attacks, and you can also work peacefully, because the location is protected from blackouts. This space was created on the basis of an old bomb shelter and after renovation it became a cozy corner with an office atmosphere. The space is equipped with workplaces, a kitchen, a shower and a recreation area.

The Lviv location is also in demand among colleagues — it is now our main representative office, so you can feel the life of the company the most here. When some colleagues from abroad come to Ukraine, they definitely come here to work and chat with colleagues. This representative office also provides the opportunity to work during blackouts and has a shelter.

The offices remain open to all, and we are always happy to see our colleagues offline. Our locations are equipped with comfortable work areas, as well as shelters and the necessary infrastructure in case of long power outages. In addition, all Ciklum offices in Ukraine are child and pet friendly — we understand that life circumstances are different, and we strive to create the most comfortable working environment possible.

Since we do not require mandatory presence in the office, this does not stop candidates or affect rejections at the recruitment stage.

The only exceptions are certain roles that require a physical presence, such as office managers, system administrators, Employee Relations specialists who organize events in offices and are responsible for corporate gifts, and part of the accounting team that works with paper documents. Sometimes HR specialists accompany new colleagues on their first day of work, conducting a tour of the office. Therefore, since the requirement to visit the office is not a common practice, it rarely becomes a reason for rejection of candidates.

However, we also believe that regular in-person meetings are essential for team bonding. That’s why we encourage our teams to organize team days once or twice a week. Each team determines when it’s most convenient for them to meet in the office. These meetings help keep people connected.

Also, once a quarter, we organize charity auctions to raise funds to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is not a mandatory event, but employees are happy to take the opportunity to meet offline, communicate, and join this important initiative.

Yes, there are cases when candidates refuse to cooperate because of the requirement to go to the office. However, such cases are few.

In today’s realities and with the current martial law in Ukraine, tying yourself to one location means limiting your own resources and capabilities. We understand that talented people are all over the world, and the freedom to choose a location to work is especially valuable for them. At the same time, life in the office has always been hectic, and the Masters themselves came for socialization and the physical presence of other people.

In our opinion, organizational culture cannot be imposed — it organically arises where the office becomes a space not only for work, but also for communication and interaction outside of work tasks. A place where productivity and relaxation with colleagues are combined. We see that the Masters themselves choose the office precisely because of the opportunity to discuss tasks not with «heads in squares on the screen», but with live people, as well as through informal communication — that «live» interaction that is difficult to recreate online. They do not perceive the office as an obligation, but rather as a space where you can be together, communicate, feel that you are part of a large community. That is why we often organize thematic lunches with teams, film viewings, book clubs, board games, master classes — and often this is born precisely on the initiative of the colleagues themselves. And this is especially pleasing.

We also understand that an office is also about process stability. That’s why we keep our offices in Kyiv and Cherkasy as reliable points of support: with generators, stable internet, and everything necessary for the teams to work smoothly.

We do not expect or even require specialists to go to the office — in any city and for any team. Our colleagues live in 20+ countries and choose for themselves: to sit in one of our offices, work from home, from the cottage, the forest, the beach or while traveling. The main thing is the result and responsibility, not the location. All our processes are designed for an asynchronous and remote format, so there is no critical dependence on time zones or presence in a certain place. If a person is independent, organized, and understands how to work in distributed teams — this is exactly the type of specialist we are looking for.

We don’t «make dumplings» — our work does not require physical presence or micromanagement. At the same time, if a person is more comfortable working from the office — we provide such an option. But for us, the office is not a return to mythical «normality», but rather a space for socialization, joint initiatives or simply a change of scenery.

What is important is that we honestly communicate our format from the very beginning. So recruiters practically do not face rejections due to the «lack of an office» or, conversely, due to the requirement for one. People who value freedom of choice find us themselves. We have created a culture where it is okay to be yourself, work at your own pace, not turn life into continuous meetings, and not «live at work.» This is a long-term choice — and we do not plan to change it.

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