Interactive activities

Activity 1: Back-to-back drawing

Participants: Unlimited (pairs)

Time: Varies, 15 – 25 minutes, depends on complexity of images

Aim of Activity: This activity is meant to help people improve and think deeply about their communication skills with their fellow employees. It will also encourage team-building and collaboration

Steps (prompt questions/scenario):

Introduce the game/set-up (5 minutes): The group must pair up with someone (assigning pairs) and then have them to sit back-to-back with their partners. One person gets a picture of a shape or simple image (see later simple black and white images), and the other gets a piece of paper and pen.
The activity (10 minutes): Explain to the group that the person who has the black and white line drawing will describe the drawing to their partners without telling them outright what it is. The person with the pen and paper will attempt to draw it as their partner describes it to them. After about ten minutes, have everyone stop and then compare the original to the drawing they made.

Debriefing questions to ask after the task is completed

Why was the activity hard?
What was the hardest part about communicating this way?
What did it take for the partnerships to navigate the activity successfully?

For the descriptors:

Was it hard to not just outright tell them what they were drawing?
How specific did you feel you had to be?
Was it hard to have to rely on someone else to get what you were describing correct?

For the drawers:

Was it challenging to understand what the descriptors were saying?
- Did you ever feel lost and like you had to ask clarifying questions?
- What were the most helpful things your partner did to help you understand?

Overall, what did we learn about communication?

Learning to be clear and specific without getting frustrated
Asking clarifying questions to better complete the task
Collaboration and team work were essential to this task, you could not do this by yourself. Learning to rely on others to help accomplish activities.

Links/Resources:

Paper, Pens/Markers, Print-outs of the drawings (see Annex I). You can also use caregiving/workplace-related images prepared by the facilitator. Print out enough for each pair to have one image.

Resource: Therapist Aid, https://www.therapistaid.com/therapy-worksheet/drawing-communication-exercise

Activity 2: Coaching wheel

This activity is suitable for a digital environment.

Participants: Individual

Time: 20-30 minutes

Aim of activity: The coaching wheel helps individuals visually assess how balanced their life or work domains are, highlighting areas of strength and those needing attention. It supports structured reflection and prioritisation, enabling targeted action planning. In coaching settings, it guides conversations from awareness to growth and change.

Steps (prompt questions/scenario):

It is extremely important to be totally honest with yourself as you complete this exercise. The 8 sections in the wheel represent various areas of our life. It encourages us to consider all areas of life. Imagine the center of the wheel as 0 and the outer edge as 10. Rank your level of satisfaction within each area of your life between 0-10. Then use the markings to draw a curved line in each box to visually create a wheel. (Like the image above.) The outline will give you a visual idea of possible rough spots in your wheel of life. It’s good to narrow down to three areas you want to focus your energy. Although we would all love to have a perfect 10 in all areas, that is not what it is about. The most important thing is to have balance in one’s life. Even having a 10 in one area can create imbalance in other areas of your life.

Reflection questions: Look at the shape of your wheel.

What did you notice?
Which areas would you like to work on most in your own life?
How does one area impact another?

Learning point: Learners will recognise that different life or work areas are interdependent and that imbalance in one impact the whole. They will learn to rate and reflect on levels of satisfaction in specific domains, thereby increasing self-awareness. They will be also able to identify priority areas for improvement and translate insights into concrete, goal-oriented steps.

Links/Resources:

The coaching wheel – See Annexes

Credits: The creative soft skills training Toolkit – Link

Activity 3: The Marshmallow Care Tower

Participants: Unlimited.

Aim of activity:

To develop problem-solving and teamwork skills.
To highlight how diverse perspectives (including those of caregivers balancing responsibilities) contribute to innovative solutions.
To practice communication, collaboration, and adaptability in resource-limited scenarios.

Time: 30–40 min.

Steps (prompt questions/scenario):

Divide participants into teams of 4–6.
Each team’s goal: Build the tallest freestanding tower that can support a marshmallow at the top.
Twist: Partway through, the facilitator introduces “caregiver challenge cards” (e.g., “One team member must step away for 5 minutes to take a child to the doctor” or “You lose half your tape because of a caregiving emergency”).
Teams must adapt their strategy and continue building.
After the activity, each team measures their tower and presents their approach.

Debrief questions:

How did your team adapt when faced with unexpected challenges?
Did all voices get heard?
How does this relate to supporting colleagues with caregiving duties in real workplaces?

Learning point: Success comes not only from technical problem-solving but also from flexibility, empathy, and teamwork—skills that are critical to inclusive workplaces.

Links/Resources:

Spaghetti sticks, tape, string, 1 marshmallow per team.
Index cards with “caregiver challenges”* to integrate. *The caregiver challenge cards should be adapted to local cultural and social contexts, ensuring that the examples are realistic and relevant for each country: I.e. replace or modify scenarios that may not apply in all national settings (e.g., family leave policies, workplace norms), and use neutral and inclusive language, avoiding culture-specific references that could limit understanding.

Activity 4: Break the care code

Participants: Unlimited

Time: 30–40 min.

Aim of Activity: To strengthen collaboration, problem-solving, adaptability, and inclusive teamwork, while simulating how limited availability (e.g., caregivers under pressure) affects team dynamics and requires resource-sharing.

Steps (prompt questions/scenario):

Divide participants into small groups (3–5).
Each group receives a puzzle pack prepared by the facilitator. The pack contains 3–4 riddles or mini-enigmas (logic puzzles, word scrambles, number patterns, symbol matching). Each puzzle, once solved, reveals part of a 4-digit “Care code”.
1. Example: A crossword where answers are words like flexibility, empathy, support.
2. Example: A math riddle.
3. Example: Matching caregiving icons with their definitions to reveal a sequence.
Collaboration twist: Not all players receive the same information. Some get partial clues , while others have puzzle sheets without certain details. Teams must communicate and share openly to combine their pieces.
Halfway through, the facilitator introduces a caregiver challenge card (e.g., “One member can’t contribute for 5 minutes due to a caregiving emergency” or “Your team loses one puzzle sheet”).
Teams must continue working together until they break the code.
The first team to submit the correct 4-digit code wins.

Debrief questions:

How did your team share resources and information?
Did some voices dominate while others were excluded?
What happened when one member was “unavailable” due to the challenge card?
How does this reflect the reality of teamwork when employees have caregiving responsibilities?
What soft skills (empathy, flexibility, communication) were most important to succeed?

Learning point: Breaking the code requires more than logic — it requires trust, collaboration, adaptability, and inclusive problem-solving. Teams that value each member’s contribution, even when resources are uneven, are more resilient and successful.

Links/Resources:

Collaborative platform: Google Docs, Google Slides, or Miro board for puzzle sheets (if implemented online).
Breakout rooms: Zoom, Teams, Webex (if implemented online)
Prepared puzzles: 3–4 mini-enigmas leading to digits of the code (see Annex I)
Caregiver challenge cards: Delivered by the facilitator to “caregivers”.
- Card 1: One participant cannot answer for 3 minutes (simulating sudden unavailability).
- Card 2: Your group loses one clue temporarily (e.g., Puzzle 2’s clue #3).
- Card 3: One participant can only answer “yes/no” to simulate distraction.
- Card 4: Another must work silently for 2 minutes.

Activity 5: Invisible work: When personal problems follow us to the office

Participants: Team Leaders, Managers, HR Professionals. 2–50 people (pairs or small groups: manager + Francesca + observers).

Time: 30–90 minutes (15 min role-play + 15 min debrief + 10 min group reflection).

Aim of activity: To apply soft skills in a workplace environment, to build emotional intelligence, improve handling of sensitive conversations, and create a supportive team culture while maintaining productivity.

Steps (prompt questions/scenario):

1. Welcome & Ice-breaker

2. Trigger warning (trainer notes): This activity may touch on personal or emotionally sensitive experiences, particularly related to stress, caregiving, or workplace challenges. Before starting, ensure a safe and respectful environment where participants feel comfortable sharing or role-playing.
Trainers should remind everyone that the scenarios are fictional and not intended to reflect personal situations. Allow space for debriefing and emotional processing after the role-play, offering participants the option to step back if they feel uncomfortable. Emphasise confidentiality and mutual respect throughout the session.

3. Scenario introduction: “You are a team leader or manager at a growing company. One of your top team members, Francesca, who has been with the company since its very beginning, has recently started underperforming. She submits incomplete or late reports, does not play an active role in her department, and is often preoccupied or distracted. She also frequently arrives late or leaves early. She has also been unresponsive to emails and messages during working hours while constantly checking her personal mobile phone. The atmosphere at work is not ideal, and her relationships with her colleagues have also been affected. They have expressed concerns about her perceived detachment and lack of collaboration, with some feeling that she considers herself above the rest of the team.
Despite subtle reminders and nudges from colleagues, the situation has not improved. As her manager, you have decided to have a private, constructive conversation with her to address these issues directly.”

4. Assign roles: Divide participants into small groups of 2, 4, or 6, depending on the total number of participants. Each group will be assigned one of two roles:

Manager Group – tasked with balancing empathy and support for an employee while addressing team dynamics and organizational needs, and recognizing potential biases
Francesca Group – role-playing a highly capable but overwhelmed employee struggling with an invisible caregiving burden, shaped by societal and gendered expectations.

5. Role preparation: Each group receives a fictional role card outlining Francesca’s background, including

Demographic information
Type and intensity of caregiving responsibilities
Job duties and workplace expectations
Key challenges she faces at work
Personal goals, pressures, and emotional landscape
Groups review their role card and reflect on a set of guided questions to better understand their character’s perspective and needs.

6. Empathy mapping: Using an empathy map, each group explores and records insights into what their character > Thinks and feels – Sees in their environment – Says and does – Hears from others. The aim is to step into the shoes of the assigned role and build a deeper understanding of the human dynamics at play.

7. Role-play in pairs or small groups: Manager initiates the conversation; Francesca reveals her caregiving responsibilities and frustrations. During the meeting, when the Manager raise concerns about missed deadlines and unreliable working hours, and highlights how much you and your colleagues are preoccupied, Francesca opens up and reveals that:

Her mother, aged 85, has recently been diagnosed with a severe autoimmune condition requiring daily care and medical supervision. Her father died 5 years ago, and since then she has been living with her.
She is raising two challenging teenagers, and to make things harder, her husband lost his job six months ago.
She is the only daughter in her family. Although she has two older brothers, she is expected to take on caregiving responsibilities due to a kind of atavistic mentality in her family and culture.
She explains that nobody ever asked her if she wanted to provide this care, or if she was available or able to do so. It was simply assumed that she would do it because she is a woman and the daughter of the person in need of care.
She talks about how tired and frustrated she feels, like she’s being punished just for being a woman — both at home and at work — because all the emotional and physical labor always ends up on her.
Francesca knows she hasn’t been at her best lately, but what hurts the most is the silence around her. She’s angry and disappointed that no one seems to notice or care enough to ask what’s going on. No one is reaching out, no one is checking in — it’s like she’s invisible.
She can’t help but ask herself if a male colleague would be expected to juggle all the same pressures — at home or at work — or if things would just be easier for him.

As her manager, you realise that you’ve been so focused on the results that you haven’t taken the time to consider what might be happening beneath the surface. You also recognise that you may have unconsciously assumed that Francesca, or any other woman, would simply manage without needing support or being asked how she’s really doing.

8. Group debrief and guided discussion:
What soft skills did the manager demonstrate? Which could be improved?
How did empathy or lack of it shape Francesca’s openness?
What practical steps could HR/managers take in similar real-life cases?

Learning point: This activity highlights the importance of empathy, self-awareness, communication, and adaptability in supporting caregivers, particularly women who face disproportionate expectations.

Links/Resources:
Scenario overview
Role prompts for Manager and Employee (Francesca) – see below
Discussion questions for the debrief

Role cards	Manager role	Francesca role
Your backstory	You are Francesca’s manager. You’ve noticed a significant drop in her performance and engagement. Your goal is to have a private, constructive conversation that: Surfaces the root causes of her behaviourExpresses concern without judgmentOffers support while maintaining accountability	You’ve been with the company since the beginning and have always been a high performer. Lately, you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and disconnected. You’re struggling with personal issues that you haven’t shared with anyone. You feel judged and misunderstood by your colleagues. Your goals are: Express your feelings honestlyExplore what support might helpDecide whether you want to stay in your current role or adjust responsibilities
Tone to aim for/ Emotional state	Calm, empathetic, and professional Curious rather than accusatory Supportive but clear about expectations	Frustrated, tired, possibly ashamed Defensive but also craving support Unsure how to express what you need
Suggested opening lines:	“Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. I wanted to check in because I’ve noticed some changes lately.” “I value your contributions deeply, and I want to understand what’s been going on.” “Let’s talk about how we can support you while keeping the team on track.”	“I know I haven’t been myself lately… I just didn’t know how to talk about it.” “It feels like people are watching me all the time, waiting for me to mess up.” “I’m dealing with a lot outside of work, and it’s been hard to focus.”
Prompts	“I’ve noticed that your performance has changed recently. I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing.” “I hear that you’re under a lot of pressure. Can you tell me more about what’s been going on?’ “How do you feel your responsibilities at home are impacting your work?” “What would meaningful support look like for you right now?” “Let’s figure out a plan that protects your well-being and also supports the team.”	Share the assumption in your family that, as a woman, you would take care of your mother. Express your resentment or exhaustion surrounding gendered expectations. Point out how these pressures are affecting your health, private life, and job. Ask why there hasn’t been more support or understanding at work. Suggest what kind of flexibility or recognition would make a difference.
Possible challenges	Francesca may be defensive or withdrawn She may reveal personal struggles or frustrations You’ll need to balance empathy with leadership responsibility	–
Support options to explore	Flexible scheduling Temporary role adjustments Mental health resources Coaching or mentorship	–