Combining professional and family responsibilities is a daily reality for most workers. Behind official work tasks stand people: parents of young children, those caring for elderly relatives, wounded service members, or adults and children with disabilities. The extent to which an employer accounts for this reality directly impacts work efficiency, workplace climate, and the level of trust in the organization. 

While this guide can be useful for employers across various sectors, it places a special emphasis on state bodies and budget-funded institutions. It is precisely in the public sector that combining professional and family responsibilities is often complicated by limited financial resources, stricter regulatory frameworks, and less managerial expertise in modern HR practices. At the same time, the state as an employer possesses the potential to set standards for a responsible and equitable approach to organizing work. 

The purpose of this guide is to demonstrate that realistic and effective solutions can be implemented, even with limited resources. This primarily involves sound managerial approaches, clear internal procedures, and a culture of mutual respect. Often, the key resource is not the budget, but the political will of leadership and a willingness to systematically review organizational processes. 

The guide unpacks the concept of work-family balance and its significance for institutional resilience and gender equality. It analyzes the opportunities already provided by national legislation. It offers a step-by-step process for developing internal policies, from needs assessment to monitoring. Special attention is given to practical case studies of organizations that demonstrate diverse models of support for workers with family responsibilities in Ukraine. 

It is essential to emphasize that supporting work-family balance is neither a one-off initiative nor a formal document for reporting purposes. It is an integral part of modern organizational culture. It begins with acknowledging that employees have lives outside of work, and that these lives should not become a barrier to professional fulfillment. 

We hope that this guide will serve as a practical benchmark for employers seeking to combine quality of work with respect for human needs. Especially for state and municipal institutions, which, even under resource constraints, can foster an environment where combining professional and family responsibilities is not an exception, but a standard of organizational policy. 

During our work on the guide, we conducted a series of consultations and are deeply grateful for the interlocutors’ openness to collaboration and willingness to share their experience:

• Mariia Frey and Dmytro Kozlov from the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (Suspilne Movlennya);
• Maryna Melnychuk and Yuliia Storozhenko from Aurora;
• Bohdana Mozhaieva from PJSC Ukrhydroenergo;
• Maryna Marchenko, Head and Co-founder of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Lada Mothers’ Generation;
• Rodion Kolyshko, Advisor to the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine and Director of the Institute of Professional Qualifications;
• Vitalii Dudin, PhD in Labor Law and Co-founder of the NGO Social Movement;
• Iryna Tytarchuk, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Center for Investment and Trade Promotion, for her assistance with partnership contacts.

We are also grateful to Roman Romaniuk, Acting Head of the Volyn Regional State Administration, the administration’s staff, and personally to Nataliia Riabushenko, Gender Advisor to the Head of the Administration, for piloting development of the relevant policy in January-May 2026. 

If you require the development of such a policy for your organization or institution, or wish to adapt our existing policy, please reach out to us at genderindetails@gmail.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
ACRONYMS
INTRODUCTION: WHO IS THIS GUIDE FOR?

SECTION 1. WORK-FAMILY BALANCE IN THE WORKPLACE: WHAT IS IT AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
WHAT IS “WORK-FAMILY BALANCE”?
THIS BALANCE MATTERS FOR ORGANIZATIONS, EMPLOYEES, AND ACHIEVING GENDER EQUALITY
COMMON BIASES REGARDING WORK-FAMILY BALANCE POLICIES IN THE WORKPLACE

SECTION 2. NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING WORK-FAMILY BALANCE POLICIES IN THE WORKPLACE

SECTION 3. HOW TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A POLICY TO SUPPORT WORKERS WITH FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES AND WHICH SUPPORT TOOLS TO USE
POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION: 7 STEPS
A “REPOSITORY OF IDEAS” FOR SUPPORT INSTRUMENTS
1. Management-level Commitments
2. Flexible Working Time Arrangements   
3. Workflow Organization
4. Leave
5. Organizational Culture
6. Coordinating Support for Workers with Family Responsibilities
7. Child-friendly Workplace Environment
8. Other Support Measures

SECTION 4. BEST PRACTICES IN SUPPORTING WORKERS WITH FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES
FROM A PARENT-AND-CHILD ROOM TO A FAMILY-FRIENDLY UNIVERSITY
SUSPILNE UKRAINE: GENDER EQUALITY PRACTICES IN A PUBLIC BUDGET ORGANIZATION
HOW UKRHYDROENERGO IS STRENGTHENING PROTECTION MECHANISMS FOR WORKERS
AURORA: A CORPORATE MODEL FOR COMBINING PROFESSIONAL AND FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES IN A LARGE COMPANY

ANNEX 1. SAMPLE STAFF NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEY
ANNEX 2. DRAFT MODULAR POLICY FRAMEWORK

Ukrainian-to-English translation: Alyona Hruzina

This guide was developed as part of the project “Local Feminist Perspectives as Transformation Levers in Partner Countries,” within the “Care Work” thematic area, funded by the German Federal Government through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The project was implemented by the CSO Expert Resource Gender in Detail.