Workshop scenarios

The scenarios have been created in the course of joint work of experts from our international team in order to help organisations and people working with adults in the NGO sector to detect and prevent occupational burnout and to manage the phenomenon as a part of the organization's culture.
We have prepared 8 scenarios in total - 6 for stationary and 2 for online meetings.
The idea of scenarios is to inspire leaders and trainers working on burnout prevention and to give them exercises, knowledge and ideas on how to talk with people about this phenomena.

How to use our scenarios?

The scenarios are a tool for educators working with NGOs, as part of performing their own educational activities in the field of occupational burnout.
They are accompanied with a series of video clips, digital presentations and other material and are organized in a way that makes it possible to use them either as an integrated tool or in a modular way (only particular exercises, presentations, simulations).
Therefore, please be creative with the provided information, adjust it to the size and to the type of organization’s activity. The goal of the scenarios is strategic rather than informative - the workshops focus on the questions f.e.: What organization/participant is planning to change in the context of burnout? What and how should the changes be introduced? How to prepare and implement a recovery plan? How to improve communication in an organization?

Workshop for leaders from NGOs

The workshop is aimed at leaders of organizations. It is conceptualized as a preventive workshop. It leads them through a process of self-reflection which gradually extends the focus to their role within the organization. How can they be an example and lead the changes in the organization by being a role model for colleagues. The workshop offers a collage of activities that inform about burnout, offers suggestions for reorganization of individual routines and examples of practical exercises.

Workshop for organization without leader

The workshop is aimed at individuals of the same organization already facing burnout. It leads through a process of exchanging experiences and mapping resources, raising awareness of the impact of burnout in the team to the organization and individuals within it. It supports participants to commonly develop possible small scale changes that can be applied immediately as well as looks a bit further in the future to see what external help can be sought. Some suggestions on how to help colleagues going through burnout are also included.

Workshop for individuals from NGOs

The workshop is about burnout in NGOs. Through different activities, participants will learn about stress and burnout, signs of burnout, risk factors, and possible strategies of preventing burnout and dealing with it. They will explore their current position at work and in activism, and also their needs and desires for the future. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences with burnout and question their attitudes about burnout.

Online workshop for individuals from NGOs

The workshop is about burnout in NGOs. Through different activities, participants will gain basic knowledge about stress and burnout, signs of burnout, risk factors, and possible strategies of preventing burnout and dealing with it. They will explore their current position at work and in activism, and also their needs and desires for the future. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences with burnout and question their attitudes about burnout.

Workshop for NGO organisation with leader

The workshop is for one organization and its team who is overwhelmed by work and some of the team members are sliding into burnout. Participants will get an opportunity to be in the process which will get them to experience and acknowledge the group’s dynamics, possible sources of burnout, main obstacles in better functioning of the NGO, and team member’s specificities and aspirations. By the end of the workshop team members will have a roadmap in front of them to reorganize organizational work with awareness of their specific situation.

Workshop for individuals from NGOs: Balance in Action

During the workshop, participants learn how noticing everyday positive events helps to improve the
mental strength of the individual.
They write down a work-related goal that is important to them and analyse it in terms of factors they
can control and do not control in achieving this goal. In the theoretical part, they find out what job
burnout is and how to prevent it by focusing on the things/actions we have an impact on.

Workshop for leaders from NGOs: Stop, check and reflect

The workshop has a character of an intervision (sharing experiences and talking to other male and female coaches about the problems they have experienced and the successes they have achieved) and gives the participating leaders a look into their organisations and themselves to realize and confront the situation they are in. It gives the opportunity to share their experiences with burnout and question their attitudes about this syndrome.

Online workshop for team with leader: Values and Commitment

The workshop is designed to spark conversation within the organization's team and work together on what brings people closer and what distances them from the action they want to take. The tool used during the workshop: The values and Commitment Matrix, will allow learning the perspective of others on the team, flexibly respond to the needs of the team and at the same time develop concrete solutions.

How did we work?

In May 2020 we had a series of online meetings on the structure, methods and techniques that we wanted to include in the scenarios.
We have used the design thinking method which was based on previously carried out research and its conclusions. The framework of workshops proposed different interdisciplinary methods of work such as: projection methods, Non Violent Communication approach, working with body, creative writing, cross-cultural approach, emotional management, British drama or improvised theater.
We have conducted 8 trial workshops (approx. for 8-15 participants each) in order to get feedback and ideas on the utility and accuracy of those tools, helping to improve them. The presented material has been evaluated and redesigned to bring the best quality and usefulness to all that seek for new knowledge and materials on the subject.

Don’t forget to give us credits

The scenarios are published under Creative Commons 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license which means you are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Under the following terms concerning attribution:
You must give appropriate credit for our project and team, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
Our credits are:

Burnout Aid project (burnout-aid.eu) with Culture Shock Foundation, Common Zone and City of Women.

We will also appreciate your feedback and comments after using them. You can contact us at contact@burnout-aid.eu. We are still learning and your opinion is very important for us.

Enjoy!