Second HR Meetups: Powered by AUK Takes Place – Productivity in the Age of Burnout

The second event under the new HR Meetups: Powered by AUK initiative — a joint project of the IT Ukraine Association and American University Kyiv — took place in the historic River Port building on Poshtova Square.

Participants discussed how to support themselves amidst full-scale war, prolonged stress, loss of motivation, and uncertainty, as companies face a new reality.

The opening remarks were delivered by Marta Kindrys, Director of the Center for Advocacy and Development of the IT Industry, and Jacek Leśkow, Rector and Professor of American University Kyiv.

 

The development of digital technologies, remote work, lockdowns, and the war have changed our environment—we are increasingly communicating online. Such isolation often leads to stress and a lack of face-to-face contact, which creates serious challenges for HR specialists in IT companies. This is one of the reasons why AUK opened a training programme in Psychology this year and is already preparing specialists who will help companies and individuals better care for their mental health

stated Mr. Leśkow

   

Today, the IT Ukraine Association is focusing its efforts on creating a holistic support ecosystem for the industry: from forming a favourable regulatory environment and developing talent potential to integration into the area of defence projects. The launch of the HR community is a logical step forward that will allow companies to get practical answers to market challenges and enhance the exchange of experience

noted Marta Kindrys, ITU

   

The event was moderated by Oksana Rudyk, PR Director of American University Kyiv, who facilitated a warm and professional meeting.

   

Sharing their experience and practical tools were the speakers of the panel discussion on the topic: “Emotional Burnout: How to Restore Team Strength and Not Lose Yourself”:

• Anzhela Holovchenko – Psychologist, Trauma-Focused Therapist. Lecturer at the “Happy Life” CPP and MAPCSO. Founder of the Centre for Psychological Education of Society “Psykhika”. TRiM Trainer in Ukraine;
• Liudmyla Hromadiuk – Clinical Psychologist, Volunteer Medic, Manager of the Rehabilitation Direction at the CF “Iryska”;
• Nataliia Yarotska – Research Fellow at the State Scientific Institution “Centre for Innovative Medical Technologies,” Chief Specialist in Mental Health for the National Committee of the Red Cross of Ukraine, Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Trainer, and Supervisor.

   

The experts highlighted:

• The importance of daily awareness of one’s own state, especially before important events or meetings, as well as processing stress through cognitive and bodily methods;
• Practices for recovery: sport, shifting attention to the surrounding space (nature, people, environmental details), and using photos/memories of positive experiences;
• The potential for burnout to spread throughout the entire team. Signs include: a drop in productivity, increased conflicts, an atmosphere of discouragement, loss of meaning in work, and depersonalisation—distancing from projects and colleagues.

Serhii Tythenko, Deputy Dean of the EPAM School of Digital Technologies at AUK, also addressed the audience. He spoke about the specifics of the American approach to training IT specialists at AUK and shared his own experience in preventing employee burnout as the Technical Director of the IT company EMPAT.

   

During the event, Roman Romanenko (Chief Human Resources Officer for Kitsoft, Psychologist, Gestalt Therapist) spoke about an additional mental health support tool — an anonymous “first aid” service following stressful events (such as shelling). The service offers a free opportunity to consult a crisis psychologist. However, a remaining challenge in its implementation is, for example, the inability to track the impact of air alarms across all regions.

 

According to the assessment results, 77% of Kitsoft employees rated the first aid programme as useful or very useful, and 90% supported its continuation in 2023–2024. From 2024, a 50% compensation for sessions with a psychotherapist has been introduced as a corporate benefit.

The goal of these regular meetings is to create a permanent platform where representatives from business and education can find common solutions to social challenges. Each quarterly event will have a new, current focus and will facilitate the emergence of new partnerships.

We thank American University Kyiv for the partnership, the speakers for their profound content, and all participants for their reflection, questions, and engagement in the dialogue.