Breathing Space August 2025

Improving organizational culture is on ALL of us!

In my coaching work I often hear  “I love this work, but wow…the pace, the stress, the exhaustion. I don’t know how long I can do this?”  Feel familiar? The truth is, child welfare work asks a lot from us. If we are going to stick around and do what we are called to do, we must keep a focus on our well-being. But it is not only up to us to do so…

That’s the heart of Be Well > Do Well >Stay Awhile, an offering from the Kempe Center that’s specifically designed for child welfare organizations. It’s more than a training; it’s a practical, research-informed intervention that helps organizations create cultures where people can thrive and want to stay.

We know the data: turnover is high, burnout is real, and even the most passionate person can find themselves wondering if they can keep doing this. That’s where this approach comes in. Grounded in neuroscience, positive psychology, and organizational research, the intervention tackles the three key drivers of workforce resilience:

• leadership that truly cares,
• workplace culture that promotes psychological safety, and
• five simple daily practices that staff can use to build personal resilience—including gratitude, movement, mindfulness, kindness, and deeper social connection.

But this isn’t a fluffy wellness campaign focused on just personal efforts. It’s powerful and impactful  because it addresses all three drivers of workforce resilience, AND it is designed to be doable in our stressful and time-crunched workplaces. We’re talking about small, realistic changes that can be built into your day, like ending a meeting with appreciation, taking a 60-second breathing break, or sending a surprise thank-you email to a colleague. These practices seem small, but they are proven to boost morale, improve performance, reduce burnout, and yes, increase retention.

Whether your county is actively working on staff well-being or just starting the conversation, Be Well > Do Well > Stay Awhile meets you where you are. It includes hands-on staff trainings, supervisor coaching, and leadership consultation, all designed to make these changes stick.

If you’re ready to create the kind of workplace people want to be part of, connect with Dan Comer at daniel.comer@cuanschutz.edu to learn how to bring this transformative approach to your county.

Let’s build workplaces that work for us too.