How to adapt to your employer's country and not feel like an outcast?

Olga Chubenko

CEO Jobian

Every year the list of areas for labor migration of Ukrainians expands, thus breaking the stereotypical "working only in Poland." But at the same time, the problem of adaptation in "foreign" countries, which differ in mentality, habits, and cultural characteristics, is becoming more urgent. So how can Ukrainians who go abroad to work not feel like exiles?

The closer to Ukraine, the easier it is to get around

Until 2014, the primary destinations of Ukrainian labor migrants were Russia and Poland, as they are the closest to our mentality and the easiest to understand the language. However, with the start of hostilities in eastern Ukraine and the signing of a visa-free agreement with the European Union, the situation has changed dramatically: now our compatriots work across Europe, and some even travel to Canada and the United States. Popular destinations today are the Baltic countries, as well as Western European countries with strong Ukrainian diasporas, including Italy, Spain, and Portugal. However, traditionally, the Czech Republic and Poland are at the TOP. According to the Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Andrii Deshchytsia, today about 1.5 million Ukrainians are officially employed in the neighboring country. Whereas, according to the Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a total of 2.5-3 million people went abroad to work in 2021. That is, half of the labor migrants from Ukraine choose Poland as their destination country. This is not surprising, because there are many conditions for foreign workers. For example, government websites and service companies have a Ukrainian interface. There are signs in Ukrainian on the streets, railway stations, and airports, and in the banking and service sectors, there are more and more vacancies for Ukrainians working with compatriots, who make up a significant percentage of the clients of establishments.