In recent years, Ukraine has been in a state of chronic stress: war, daily worries, an economy on the verge of exhaustion, labor resources under the pressure of mobilization and emigration. And right now, a proposal to switch to a four-day work week is appearing in the public space. The idea, which in peacetime could be perceived as a step towards civilized labor standards, today looks dubious in view of the war, too risky for the realities where every hryvnia and hour counts. In the current environment, where every labor resource is on the account, any reduction is perceived as a challenge with an uncertain outcome. So let’s try to soberly assess how well-founded and feasible the idea of a four-day work week is for the country, and whether it can become not a burden, but a resource for restarting and increasing labor productivity.
Between the reality of war and the rhetoric of reforms
A four-day working week for Ukraine sounds like a paradox. While part of the country works 60 hours a week, the idea of reducing the workload is being discussed. In a peaceful context, this could be a progressive and humane approach, but in the realities of martial law, such an over-ambitious proposal risks remaining at the level of loud headlines.
Chairman of the VRU Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev speak about the possibility of an “experimental” introduction of a shorter week exclusively on a voluntary basis, without state coercion. This format, in his opinion, should become a matter of agreement between the employee and the employer, and not a political slogan. There is rationality in this approach, because in a country where critical infrastructure enterprises are already officially allowed to work 60 hours a week, it is simply impossible to demand a unified approach.
World experience here is also not a universal recipe. In Germany, Britain, and Poland, the four-day week is being tested in peaceful conditions, with state support, in sectors where efficiency is measured by results, not hours. There, work is perceived more as creativity, analytics and technology. In Ukraine, at the same time, it is often physical work, services, production and work in extreme conditions of risk. That is why the attempt to transfer successful cases from the West to a country that lives in an extreme regime looks more like an invitation to a discussion than a real scenario.
In our country, a four-day week is currently possible only at the level of individual decisions, as in casey IT company Brighta, which was the first to try to change the rhythm of work back in 2019. According to the company’s experts, the first months really inspired optimism: the stress level in the team fell, employees became noticeably happier, work meetings became more accurate. But the effect turned out to be more difficult than expected.
In areas where work is routine, well-defined, or results-driven rather than process-driven, a shortened week can work. If the company has a formed product, a stable team and established internal processes, then reducing the number of days does not destroy the rhythm. And even more, sometimes it increased labor productivity. However, for businesses that live in dynamics, build startups, test hypotheses and keep their finger on the pulse of changes, this format can seriously slow down the pace. This was one of the reasons why Brighta adjusted the approach, and some teams returned to the five-day format. With the transition to remote work, the work rhythm finally shifted, and it became clear that there is no universal recipe. The third day off does not guarantee either productivity growth or business success. Everything depends on the specific context, namely on the type of tasks, the culture of the company, and the readiness of employees for self-discipline.
So, a four-day work week does not lead to the concept of “working less”, but rather it is about “working differently”. And this “otherwise” is not always beneficial. Especially in an environment where speed, flexibility and constant presence are part of the business model. It was without adapting the business model that the drop in productivity became a matter of time.
Against the background of the war, such an initiative does not sound like a reform, but a test of flexibility. The readiness of business to take responsibility for the new format of work, as well as the ability of Ukrainians to revise their own attitude to work in conditions of constant stress, remains at the level of experiments. This is a testing zone where final conclusions are yet to come. But something else is important: even in the toughest conditions, there is a space for talking about human resources as a key value, and this is already a signal for the future.
What the law and the market say: between flexibility and reality
Despite the loud discussion of the four-day work week, at the level of the law in Ukraine, everything remains unchanged. As remind in the State Employment Service, the working week officially lasts 40 hours and this is the basic norm of the Code of Labor Laws. Reduction of this time is possible only in exceptional cases: for minors, people with disabilities or by individual agreement with the employer, but there are currently no systemic changes or legislative initiatives in question.
On the other hand, in wartime conditions, the working week at some critical infrastructure facilities is not shortened, but rather lengthened. And this is not a figure of speech: instead of the usual 40 hours to 60. The country works in survival mode, and it is in this context that proposals for a third day off sound.
In the labor market, despite the difficult circumstances, more and more offers with non-standard schedules are appearing. According to the Unified Information and Analytical System, there are more than 870 part-time vacancies in the country. These are drivers, cleaners, psychologists, and even doctors and teachers. The level of payment is very different: from the minimum amount to 60 thousand hryvnias. Employers are experimenting with formats, offering a flexible schedule or dividing the day into parts, or night work. Flexibility already exists in practice, even if the law has not yet caught up with it.
Simultaneously poll Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine shows: there is interest, but without excessive enthusiasm. Almost 60% of entrepreneurs generally support the idea of a four-day week, but it is not about reducing working time, but about its redistribution. That is, four days for ten hours instead of five for eight. At the same time, 31% of employers believe that such a change can even increase productivity. Another 27% are ready to try, but on the condition that salaries do not decrease. A portion of 16% took a cautious position, saying that everything depends on the circumstances. And only 26% oppose it: some because of the war, some simply because of skepticism towards such innovations in times of crisis.
As we can see, the market is not closed to changes, but it is not rushing towards a radical reset either. For now, we have a cautious observation, not a large-scale reform. Still, now talking about a four-day work week in Ukraine is like discussing a holiday in the Maldives during an air raid alert. While companies elsewhere in the world are experimenting with new work formats, the Ukrainian labor market has long been operating in a state of emergency in the literal sense.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, many changed the office to a trench, the laptop to a machine, and the usual “nine to six” schedule turned into a “while you need it” schedule. In March 2022, a special law “On the organization of labor relations under martial law” was adopted dated 03/15/2022 No. 2136-IX, whose goal was to survive and keep the country’s economy afloat. Ukrainians were also forced to forget about holidays. All official holidays have become regular working days. No double pay, no “time off”, because the country is at war, and that’s the main thing. From now on, the employer can engage his workers to work on the day off without the consent of the trade union. And although from the point of view of labor rights, this sounds quite harsh, but under the conditions of current realities, it simply cannot be done otherwise, because behind every clock that counts down the working day, there is an economy that must support the army, communities, immigrants and, ultimately, keep the country on its feet. Therefore, while someone in Europe is testing the “weekend from Thursday”, Ukrainians work according to the principle “if you can, then work”. Rather, it is not about workaholism, but about survival.
How a “shorter” week works: world experience in detail
At the same time, it would also be short-sighted to ignore world experience. A recent large-scale study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, demonstrated, that a four-day working week can become not only a source of satisfaction for employees, but also a driver for business. Almost three thousand employees from 141 companies in Great Britain, Australia, Canada, USA, Ireland and New Zealand participated in the project. Format: four working days per week without loss of salary, but with preliminary restructuring of work processes.
The result was more than indicative: stress reduction, better physical and mental health, increased loyalty to the employer. Even a slight shortening of the week (by 1–4 hours) already had a positive effect. Companies, for their part, did not record a drop in productivity, but on the contrary, in some cases it even increased. While Ukrainians are working in the “survive and hold on” mode, more and more countries are experimenting with how to work less, but more efficiently. In Western Europe, the average length of the working week has long been shorter than here. For example, in the Netherlands – 32 hours, in Germany – about 34.
Despite the skepticism of some economists, the practice of a shortened week is being established step by step in reality. For example, Iceland is one of the leaders, where more than 90% of workers already have access to flexible hours or work less than standard hours. In Great Britain, more than 200 companies have already officially switched to a four-day week without reducing wages. In Belgium, four days of 10 hours were allowed to work. And in Germany, more than half of the participants of the pilot project introduced the new format for all employees.
In June 2025, a pilot also started in Poland, a country that until recently was considered one of the most industrious in Europe. Her government decided to try other approaches: either reduce the working day to 6 hours, or reduce the number of days to four, or simply increase the number of paid weekends. The rationale behind this initiative is to reduce burnout and increase work-life balance, resulting in less burnout and higher fertility. For a country with demographic problems, this is no longer just a matter of comfort, but a strategy for survival.
It should be noted that the pandemic finally destroyed the idea of working models “as before”. Many workers in Europe no longer want to return to the office, and certainly not to the five-day regime. The experience of Starling Bank in Britain confirms this: after a strict order from the management to “return to the office”, part of the team left. People have already felt that it is possible to live differently. At the same time, 58% of Britons hope that a three-day weekend will become the norm by 2030. And although this approach sounds somewhat utopian, the trend is there, and it is global. However, not everyone is delighted with him. Skeptics warn that fewer hours could pose risks to the economy, especially if companies do not have time to rebuild. But it seems that the question is no longer or the working week will change, and in that, how quickly and exactly where. The world is looking for a model that not only makes you work, but also allows you to live.
However, it is important to understand that this experience took place in stable conditions. The participants were volunteers and most of the companies were small with clear internal processes. So this shouldn’t be taken as a one-size-fits-all formula, but rather a worthy example of how the work week can work differently if there is the resource and support for change. The idea of a four-day work week in Ukraine now sounds like both a dream and a challenge. It is a dream because it offers hope for more humanity in a world where everyone lives in survival mode. However, this is also a challenge, because while some talk about the “balance of life and work”, others sew bulletproof vests, support the economy or stand at roadblocks. In the reality of wartime, any reduction in work is perceived not as “Western standards”, but as an economic, logistical and psychological risk. And such an innovation definitely cannot be implemented with one stroke of the pen.
Will Ukraine withstand a four-day work week during the war
The introduction of a four-day working week in Ukraine in the conditions of a full-scale war is incompatible with the structure of losses in the labor market, macro-financial indicators and the demographic situation. Currently, as a result of hostilities, large-scale emigration and mobilization, Ukraine has lost at least 40% of its economically active population. According to estimates of the International Labor Organization (ILO), more than 5 million Ukrainians abroad are of working age, but are not integrated into the domestic economy. About 1.1 million more are mobilized or serve in the defense systems, not participating in civilian production, while thousands of soldiers have died. Along with this, about 10% of the labor market is partial or hidden unemployment due to destroyed infrastructure, occupation or loss of enterprises.
Under these conditions, the introduction of a shortened working week, even without a reduction in wages, would lead to a reduction in aggregate productivity of between 12 and 15% in sectors that cannot be compensated by intensification or automation. At the same time, according to the data of the National Bank of Ukraine, more than 60% of small and medium-sized businesses operate in the mode of partial loading. Any reduction in working hours without a reform of the tax burden will mean an increase in the cost of labor.
In critical sectors (energy, logistics, food industry, medical care, defense production), changing the schedule is technically impossible: there is no personnel reserve. In 2024, the Ministry of Health reported a shortage of more than 24,000 doctors, particularly in regions where the workload has doubled due to immigrants. At the same time, according to the estimates of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, the market lacks more than 300,000 qualified workers. 15% of enterprises reduce volumes not due to lack of orders, but due to the inability to hire staff.
An experimental transition for four days without a reduction in the wage fund is possible only in certain areas — in particular, in financial services, IT, digital marketing, and analytics. But even there, some companies after 2023 returned to the classic schedule due to a drop in reaction speed and disruption of the rhythm of team interaction.
Attempting to extend the shortened week model to other industries without adapting the economic environment will inevitably lead to lower production rates, logistical gaps and lower tax revenues. In 2024, more than 37% of state budget revenues were formed at the expense of EUV and personal income tax. Even a 10 percent reduction in legal wages means a shortfall of more than 60 billion hryvnias every year — despite the fact that the entire defense budget for 2025 is projected at the level of 1.8 trillion hryvnias.
In addition to the fiscal consequences, the shortening of the week in wartime has a psychological risk: increasing inequality between the sectors that work “without days off” and the office segment that can afford experiments. In a situation where the state has canceled public holidays, the simplification for elected officials will be perceived as political asynchrony.
Hence, the four-day workweek is a format that is technically possible only in peacetime in a structurally stable economy with a surplus of labor. As of now, Ukraine is in the reverse configuration: personnel deficit, economy of manual management, external financing of the budget, critical overload of the main industries. Even the voluntary introduction of such a format without reform of the tax field, review of productivity standards and guarantees of fiscal compensation for business will create more problems than it solves. Of course, Ukraine has every right to think about the future of work, but for this we need not only an idea, but a realistic vision, where it is appropriate, and when it is simply premature or even dangerous.
