Growth that we can’t handle: Results of a survey on human resources in the Ukrainian book market influenced by the war

The survey was conducted by Chytomo Media outlet in partnership with CAT-UA (Communication Analysis Team – Ukraine) with the support of the British Council in Ukraine.

Key challenges in the labor market

Experts have been noticing the first indications of staff shortages since 2014, when the Ukrainian book industry began to grow. Now this crisis seems to have reached its peak.

The key aspects of staff shortages in the book market are as follows:

• Relatively low wages along with increased workload and emotional burnout 
• Migration of female employees abroad
• Mobilization of male employees to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as challenges in hiring men for offline jobs due to their attempts to avoid mobilization
• Migration of employees to other, safer regions of Ukraine
• Due to a shortage of certain specialized professionals needed because of the development of the market infrastructure, there is aggressive poaching of employees within the industry

Whose opinion does the survey represent, and what is happening to the book industry employees?

The survey, which lasted from August to September 2024, featured interviews with 610 employees of publishing houses, bookstores, printing shops, and other companies involved in the production, distribution, and promotion of books, including almost 150 former employees who migrated away from the industry. In addition, the researchers conducted 12 in-depth interviews with top managers of publishing houses and bookstores.

The survey had an additional task to identify new jobs in the market, but unfortunately, nothing has changed: the structure of jobs covers only the basic needs for company survival. Apparently, there are no prerequisites for the emergence of certain jobs: in times of war, there will be no sustainable development commissioners, for example.

Only 1.7% of employees indicated that they combine different roles. However, additional comments and in-depth interviews suggest that this percentage may be much higher: staff combine several roles simultaneously, which is typical in the Ukrainian market but not accepted in larger markets.

The industry is becoming more and more female. The percentage of female interviewees prevails and has increased to 84% compared to 76% in 2021. Perhaps this is due to mobilization. The most “male” jobs are traditionally leadership positions.

The largest share of respondents is in the 24-35 age group (41%). This may indicate that this category is the most active in the publishing and book distribution industry.

Despite the crisis, employers in the book publishing and distribution industry rarely outsource work beyond their employees.

Relocation and change of the work format

During the in-depth interviews, managers noted that a significant number of their employees continue to work online from abroad, but according to the online survey, this group is still insignificant. Among respondents, 93% say they live in Ukraine (or spend most of the year there), and the majority of respondents work from Kyiv (47%).

As compared to 2021, the decrease in the number of Kyiv-based employees is not significant (it was 53%). However, before the full-scale war, 20% of respondents indicated Kharkiv, while now that number is only 12%, which is almost equal to the number of respondents from Lviv (13%). The “Other Country” category has the following top answers: Germany (2.1%), Poland (1.1%), and Austria (0.6%).

At the same time, employers claim that in many cases, the staffing has changed dramatically since February 24, 2022. In 2022, the biggest challenge was maintaining operational activities and preserving the companies’ brands.

Relocation of employees has also influenced the work schedule: surveyed professionals now mostly work remotely—53% (compared to 36% in 2021). Of the respondents, 72% say they have not stopped working in the industry since February 24, 2022.

The biggest work challenges were reported to be stress/depression/psychological crises, as well as power outages/bad mobile connection. The next most popular factor is the increase in workload and the inadequate salary for this workload.

In our survey, we assumed that representatives of the book publishing and literary industries mostly do not leave the creative industries and seek to continue developing Ukrainian culture or promote it abroad. This hypothesis has been confirmed, as it is mainly versatile professionals who can work in the same positions in other sectors (such as accountants and IT professionals) that leave the industry. 

Salaries and wages

The highest percentage of respondents (26%) receive a monthly salary of EUR 465-665, followed by EUR 355-443 (23%). It is worth noting that only 6% of respondents earn more than EUR 1130, and only in this category do male employees prevail.

Salaries of over EUR 1,550 are most often received by editors-in-chief, publishing house directors, and top managers. Bookstore directors are half as likely to receive this amount. Almost half of the publishing house directors receive a salary of EUR 465-1,110 (most often—26% of the surveyed directors—EUR 685-1,110), and one-third—less than EUR 465.

The fact that incomes increased during the full-scale war is quite paradoxical. A significant percentage (56%) said that their income increased after February 24, 2022.

Only 18% said their income had decreased. Among respondents with unstable income, female employees prevail (91%), and among those whose income has decreased the most, the highest percentage falls on male employees (38%).

Apparently, the normalization of financial relations is still to come. In particular, respondents complain about the “disproportionate situation” and non-regulated fees for freelance services.

Education of employees

Employers complain about the quality of training at specialized universities. The main complaint is that the training there is disconnected from practical work, and that universities do not have a narrow specialization.

Industry players point out that specialized higher education is not mandatory for new employees in many book industry jobs where the only prerequisite may be a love of books and a personal interest in learning. The number of such people is growing due to the industry’s increasing visibility. At the same time, companies are mostly willing to hire employees for training, but not all of them are ready to teach from scratch.

The most scarce employees and headhunting

Most acutely, market players feel the shortage of editors, layout designers, translators, and proofreaders, as well as PR and communications professionals. In addition, there are difficulties in covering some of the jobs that are traditionally male (those requiring physical labour), as many candidates are serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and those who are trying to avoid military service are not interested in jobs that require moving around the city.

The identification of the most scarce employees is often based on the respondent’s profession, but even interviews with top managers reveal shortages at virtually every level.  

The opening of bookstores also prompted the search for completely “non-bookish” employees.

“There is a shortage of male employees. Because opening bookstores requires people who do repairs, who assemble furniture, who do physical labor.”

There is a separate and acute problem with translators, who are already booked for a year or two. 

Publishers try to retain employees by revising their salaries. In 2021, this happened rarely, only once a year or every few years. In 2024, most employers are forced to adjust salaries regularly.

“The market, circulation, and sales are growing. Our salary rates have increased by about 30-50%.”

The situation with “benefits packages” has hardly changed: paid vacation and business trips remain the main options. The organization of leisure activities has decreased, and there is no health insurance. Only two respondents mentioned mobilization reservations.

New skills: More English and the dreams of AI

Over the past two years, the need to use English has increased for half of the respondents, while for 47% it has remained the same.

Despite the growing workload and staff shortages, 60% of respondents do not use AI tools. Among those who do use AI, the most popular tasks are writing emails, taking notes at meetings (19%), translation assistance (12%), and writing and editing (9% each).

Not all employers integrate AI into their workflows, delineating tasks for its use. At the same time, employees and employers are willing to learn AI tools.

International cooperation

Top managers of companies have gained experience in entering foreign markets, but their approaches differ: some are engaged in buying and selling rights, while others work with distributors or open representative offices. However, most publishers are focused on the domestic market, seeing more opportunities for growth in Ukraine.

In general, international cooperation intensified in 2022-2023 but has now returned to its usual level. The key challenges of cooperation are trust, dependence on the amount of the contract, and ideological misunderstandings, in particular regarding the Ukrainian stance and the book market. However, experts do not consider these challenges to be a serious obstacle.

International cooperation at the employee level actively involves sales managers and commercial directors, which confirms the growth of sales of Ukrainian books abroad. For literary agents, designers, illustrators, and translators, such cooperation is a new experience.

Leaving the industry

The main reasons for leaving the industry are unsatisfactory salaries (46%) and burnout (37%), rather than moving abroad or mobilization. Employers are trying to respond to these problems. Among ex-employees, more moved abroad (24%)—mostly men, which may be related to mobilization or avoidance of it.

Ex-employees do not always find jobs that they perceive as a “promotion,” and the likelihood of success decreases with age. Most do not combine work in the industry with other activities (63%). Those who do work in other industries or take on freelance work (14%). Only 3% remain connected to Ukrainian publishing while working abroad.

What encourage people to be involved are not finances, but hobbies, belonging to the book community, and helping Ukraine. Mobilization caused 11% to leave the industry. Employers support mobilized employees by keeping their salaries and raising funds for their needs.

Employee reservations are impossible due to the lack of a clear legal framework. Mobilization is taken into account when hiring, but is not an obstacle. Men of military age are less likely to respond to vacancies.

Employees not subject to mobilization report difficulties in traveling abroad for professional events, and 10% reported discrimination, although no discrimination based on disability has been recorded.  

Possibility of returnє

Among surveyed former industry employees, 80% see their future in Ukraine, while only 2% reject this possibility. Most of those who cannot answer this question are currently abroad.

Of former industry employees, 44% see their future in Ukrainian book publishing, while 14% of those who live in Ukraine do not see themselves in the industry (vs. 3% of those who live abroad).

Most (60%) of respondents believe that over the past two years, they have gained knowledge and skills useful for future work in the industry. 

Conclusions

The full-scale war has significantly forced the Ukrainian book industry to become more mature, but the system’s muscles are not keeping pace with the development of its foundations.

“All of these problems need to be addressed for one reason: the growth and development of the market—which, some book company executives feel but cannot explain, may slip through their fingers and disappear from the horizon because the intentions of Ukrainian book publishing are extremely ambitious,” says Iryna Baturevych, the survey’s coordinator.

“We can say that we have succeeded in arousing interest and the need to read even among those who have not read much before, including with an interesting and high-quality offer. But whether we can sustain this interest and attract a sufficient number of talented, qualified book lovers will determine the future of the market.”

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Main image: Masha Grimm

Translation: Translatorium NGO

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn