Staff well‑being is as important as any other element of success. When we think of an organization whether a company, a public service, or a humanitarian agency we rarely think first of its products or systems. Instead, our minds go to the people: the officer who helped us, the employee who guided us through a process, the waiter who smiled patiently while we were trying to choose what to eat.
People are the backbone of every organization. Without them, nothing moves. Their well‑being is therefore just as essential as achieving results. How staff perceive their working environment, their management, their rights and responsibilities all of these shape the organization’s overall effectiveness.
Staff well‑being is twofold. One is, the organization has the responsibility to create structures that make well‑being possible, while each staff member has a responsibility to care for their own mental and emotional health.
This is especially true in the humanitarian sector. In humanitarian organizations, staff well‑being is not a “nice to have” it is a foundational requirement for ethical, effective, and sustainable service delivery. Professionals who work daily with individuals experiencing trauma, displacement, and chronic uncertainty carry emotional, cognitive, and physical burdens that accumulate over time. Without intentional organizational support, these burdens can lead to burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and reduced quality of care.
For organizations where staff are often the first point of contact for people in distress, investing in well‑being is both a moral responsibility and a strategic necessity. Healthy staff are more present, more resilient, more capable of offering trauma‑informed support, and more likely to remain committed to their roles. A culture of well‑being strengthens teamwork, reduces turnover, and enhances the organization’s impact.
CyRC’s Commitment to Staff Well‑Being
At CyRC, staff well‑being has always been a priority. We have long believed that taking care of ourselves is essential for being able to carry out this work. Since last year, however, we have taken a more structured and intentional approach by developing trainings, policies, and activities specifically targeted at supporting staff in humanitarian organizations.
This effort became possible through our participation in the project Erasmus+ – Caring to Include, implemented in cooperation with six well‑established organizations across six different countries. Through this collaboration, we created a Staff Well‑Being Toolkit, a practical resource designed to strengthen resilience, promote grounding, and support emotional regulation and peer connection.
Training Implementation
As part of Caring to Include project, we delivered a training session to all staff, focusing on how our work affects us and why caring for ourselves is essential. The training combined psychoeducation with practical exercises from the toolkit, creating space for reflection, discussion, and shared experience.
The management of CyRC has committed to offering this training every year, ensuring that staff are regularly reminded of the importance of well‑being and equipped with tools to support themselves.
Pilot Activity: Intervision
To bring the toolkit to life, we selected one activity to implement as a pilot: Intervision, a peer‑support methodology that allows staff to discuss challenges in a structured group setting and hear how colleagues have navigated similar situations.
The pilot was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Staff emphasized how empowered, heard, and supported they felt. Many noted that Intervision helped normalize their experiences and strengthened team cohesion. Based on these results, Intervision will now be permanently implemented at CyRC.
A Few Words About the Project
Caring to Include is a three-year project financed by Erasmus+ that aims to reduce the negative effects of trauma and other stressors on the social inclusion of refugees and migrants. At the same time, this initiative means to improve the mental health of NGO staff and volunteers working with these vulnerable groups. We create practical tools, provide training, and connect NGOs across Europe to improve trauma-informed support and mental well-being.
This initiative is led by the Dutch Council for Refugees in partnership with six European organisations from Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary and Malta.
