Project Aimed at Staff Care for the National Office of Caritas Ukraine
Mission: Supporting and developing employees spiritually and psychologically.
Program: The project consists of two parts:
- Spiritual Retreats: Five one-day meetings throughout the year for employees in each office to enhance understanding and strengthen communication and institutional capacity.
- Psychological Support: Three individual consultations with a psychologist for interested employees, along with joint online psychoeducational lectures.
Interim Report Information on the Project
Overview: The rapid staff growth at Caritas Ukraine due to wartime demands has created challenges like high workload, communication issues, and quick recruitment needs.
Survey Results (Spring 2023):
44% of employees reported experiencing burnout. Then 57% felt fatigued after work. Also, 57% indicated they were unable or sometimes unable to rest from work. Regarding supervision, 30% responded “Yes,” and 29% answered “Maybe.”
Post-Intervention Feedback: Employee feedback and project analysis following individual consultations and online lectures indicated positive outcomes:
After reassessment, only 10% of employees reported an above-average burnout level, while 29% reported an average level. 30% of surveyed employees utilized individual consultations, and 57% attended joint educational online lectures. 75% of employees participated in team-building activities, improved their understanding of organizational values, and enhanced communication with colleagues.
Key Achievements:
- National office staff met colleagues in person and improved communication.
- Employees gained insight into the organization’s spiritual identity and values.
- Institutional capacity was enhanced through offline meetings.
- Held 8 psycho-educational online lectures for staff.
- Conducted 169 individual psychological consultations.
- 63 employees utilized the opportunity for individual psychological consultations.
- Over 100 staff members are improving their English proficiency through corporate training.
Key Needs
Primary Needs:
- Continuation of existing activities (offline meetings, psychological consultations, educational lectures)
- Implementation of team-building meetings within Directorates and Departments aimed at improving internal communication, streamlining organizational processes, and strengthening institutional capacity.
- Training for all employees in psychological first aid, pre-medical aid, and safety instructions in Caritas Ukraine offices.
- Introduction of professional topic lectures to accelerate and optimize work processes.
“Staff Care Program for local teams in Caritas Ukraine network”
Mission: prevent the syndrome of professional burnout, mental and physical deterioration, the support program designed with individual needs of projects teams.
Program: The project consists of 3 parts:
- Psychological Support: Individual information and consulting services (10 consultations) for support, to discuss any issues that the team may face.
- Group information and consulting services (teambuilding) for the opportunity to share experience and concerns in a neutral space and provide peer support to one another.
- Psychoeducation trainings for project teams for a better understanding of mental health, common psychological problems, symptoms and diagnosis.
Information on the Project
The project teams continue to work under high stress conditions, handling a huge number of requests for assistance from the population. However, the teams themselves need support first. It is important to provide them with proper working conditions, psychological support, and the necessary resources to effectively carry out their duties. Only then can we ensure a high level of assistance for all those in need.
The project activities are based on the principle “care for carers” and promote emotional assistance to Caritas staff dealing with vulnerable groups in a stressful, unstable and insecure environment. They are also based on the idea that if people are empowered to care for themselves and each other, their individual and communal self-confidence and resources will improve. This, in turn, will encourage positive recovery and strengthen their ability to deal with challenges in the future.
Key Achievements:
The successful design of the 5 teams support project made it possible to provide systematic and high-quality assistance to employees.
- 143 people received professional support
- 68% (87 people) from the project teams used individual consultations
- 55% (79 people) used group information and counseling services
- 98% (141 people) develop cohesion and mutual understanding through team-building activities
- 87% (124 people) restore their motivation for professional growth through psychoeducational training (retreat)
Project needs:
– Rehabilitation measures for teams (anti-stress procedures);
– Outside activities (team building, trainings);
– Art therapy practices;
– Educational component, the increase of professional skills (study of foreign languages, public speaking courses, mentoring).
