Employee Safety and Well-being

For several years, employees of the Kyiv office have been working remotely – first due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later due to the full-scale invasion. The office remains open for those who wish to work from it, but frequent air raid alerts make stable in-office work impossible. This is life under uncertainty, prolonged stress, broken connections, and constant adaptation.

The team began to lose its sense of unity. Chats replaced live communication. Exhaustion replaced energy. People gradually withdrew from internal activities, engagement decreased, and anxiety grew. At that moment, it became clear: the team needed not just support, but a new space – for recovery, connection, and care.

This is how the idea of Retreat Fridays was born – a series of therapeutic sessions that became part of the Kyiv office’s internal culture. The sessions were held biweekly and exclusively offline. In the summer of 2025, the project was launched as a complement to the company’s existing global initiatives: extra leave, online lectures, and programs supporting mental and physical well-being.

Every two weeks, the team gathered for:

• art therapy – to process emotions through creativity,
• yoga – to restore calm to the body,
• self-defense training – to regain a sense of control and learn how to protect oneself,
• psychological workshops – to master tools for coping with stress,
• expert-led sessions – to receive support and knowledge.

Of course, there were challenges: logistics during air raids, shelling, and last-minute changes of location. But the results were worth it.

More than 30 employees participated in the project. 90% of them reported improved emotional well-being. The team began to communicate more, open, and support one another. A renewed desire to be part of a community emerged. Retreat Fridays became more than just an initiative – it became a pillar of support.

This experience proved that even in the most difficult conditions, it is possible to create a space of care.