Workshops for Workplaces
A suite of customizable writing workshop experiences designed to bring joy, trust and connection to organizations and workplace communities
The past few years have been really hard for workplaces.
Remote work, Zoom headaches, political polarization, exhaustion… Workers have been asked to shoulder more, while their lives become busier and work-life boundaries become more blurry.
Leaders do a wonderful job of focusing on consumers, investors and bottom lines, and it can be harder to turn our gaze to the human needs of our organizations.
That’s where these workshops come in.
We want to use creative writing to engage your workplace teams to reignite new trust, joy, and authentic connection. Writing and listening will let us share more deeply, collaborate more meaningfully, and build workplace community in new ways.
Because something else is true about workers. When they feel seen and engaged, they can do things together that they never could have done alone. That is the great gift of a human workplace.
Building Cultures of Belonging at Work
Belonging is a fundamental human need. Research shows a clear link between employee retention and feeling connected to workplace community. But how do we create the conditions for belonging while maintaining important professional boundaries? And what are our tools in an increasingly online world?
In this workshop we’ll look at the building blocks of cultures of belonging, and explore which ones are right for your workplace community. We’ll also use writing to connect to one another and explore what we want from connection in the workplace, as well as what’s already here.
Photo care of Etienne Girardet, with thanks.
Reconnecting to Our Why
For many of us, our work is deeply connected to our values. We pursue employment that we believe in, for companies that are making a difference in the world.
While this is a wonderful recipe for fulfillment, over time it can lead to burnout. We step into our positions with boundless energy, but what happens to that passion in the daily grind of emails and meetings? How do we reconnect to our original spark when we’re weighed down by the day-to-day realities of life in a busy organization?
In this workshop, we’ll be writing to reconnect to our collective goals, and remember what they mean to us. We’ll trace the journeys that led us to this moment in our careers, and we’ll explore small ways to bring more joy and flow to our work days. We’ll leave with our flames rekindled and ready to keep us going long into the future.
Photo care of Barby Dalbosco with thanks.
Pause, breathe, write
If one thing connects workers in the modern age it seems to be exhaustion.
As employers, we want the best for our workers. We want them to experience creativity and community at work, as well as reciprocity and shared humanity. We want them to feel connected to each other, and to their mission. This can get lost in the routines of the day-to-day.
This creative writing workshop is designed to help a group pause, breaths, and connect to their own stories, as a tool for greater workplace cohesion. We'll work through short, easy guided writing exercises to move our stories onto the page, and then share them if we feel ready. The facilitators will create a warm and encouraging space for participants to open up, listen to each other, and be heard in new ways.
Photo care of Rowan Heuvel with thanks.
Details and next steps
These workshops are designed to be delivered online. In-person meetings may be possible depending on location, timing and budget. Get in touch to figure out how to customize an offering for your community of humans.
What organizations are saying about us
I managed an incredibly hardworking team at the Indigenous Justice Division, overseen by the Government of Ontario. We supported Indigenous families with experiences of loss, racial and social injustices. Day in and day out, my team offered selfless and nurturing care. I wanted to give them the chance to reflect on their courage and resiliency.
Firefly Creative Writing gave that back to us ten-fold. In a single afternoon, through the power of words and stories, we were transported out of our heads, back to our hearts and towards our shared connections. When we left, we had been lifted up, to be able to carry on the work. I highly recommend booking a workshop with Firefly. The value of building trust in this way with your team cannot be under-estimated.
Terry Swan
Former Manager, Programs Indigenous Justice Division, Government of Ontario
Firefly Creative Writing was incredible to work with during our process. They were enthusiastic and motivated to build something with our group that would best suit our unique needs. Our group loved the facilitator, Asifa, and felt she created a safe space for them to share and create within the session. Highly recommend their services!
Flannery Sadler
Health Equity, Patient & Community Engagement, Scarborough Health Network
I can honestly say that Firefly’s writing workshops brought our group so much closer together than I could have imagined. The sessions were thoughtfully and professionally prepared and the instructor brought joy, enthusiasm and inspiration to the creative process. The Firefly team was agile, willing to adapt to the group’s needs and interests on a dime.
I am so glad we decided to incorporate Firefly into our community. Their work is second to none and the outcomes in terms of building teamwork and mutual respect among my group were astounding. It was exactly what we needed.
Jodi Lastman
Manager, Communications & Partnerships, Hospitality Workers Training Centre
The simple-yet-revealing exercises were compelling and extracted the most amazing prose from each individual. It was a surprise to discover how “easy” it was to excavate our inner authors and it was an added bonus to discover even more hidden gems about our own personal stories. Beautiful accounts appeared that brought forward memories and poignancy that we weren’t conscious of prior to our session.
Professionally facilitated, this is an excellent workshop for any corporation wanting to offer employees an opportunity to discover and express their own inner writers and themselves.
Deb Niven
Former Co-President, The Wynford Group
Throughout the past few months, Firefly has sent us some amazing facilitators such as Kim, Asifa, and Mary who worked with our group of youth to deliver powerful writing sessions. Many of our youth enjoyed the process of taking time out on a weekly basis to put their thoughts on paper, reflect on their current situation and share their pieces with their peers. The facilitators did a great job in creating a welcoming environment while addressing heavy themes such as family, relationships, emotions, and self-talk. I can't describe the number of times I was blown away by the writing pieces shared by the group and how true to their lived experiences.
Labib Chowdhury
Youth Services Coordinator, Scadding Court Community Centre
I knew I could trust the Firefly team to run a writing workshop for the business mastermind I'm running—that it would be intensely thought-provoking and done with an anti-oppressive lens that is so important to my clients. The facilitator brought such depth of experience to the group, and customized the workshop to exactly what would be useful to them. She was able to hold tough conversations, and get participants thinking deeply about their work and their impact in the world. I would definitely have her back again.
Tarzan Kay
Founder, Storyteller-in-Chief and Writer of Highly Addictive Emails, Tarzan Kay Global
The Cultural Relations and Solidarity team at Indigenous Youth Roots loves to work with Firefly Creative, so much so, we decided to invite them to our IYR staff meeting to facilitate a writing session for the whole organization. We can't wait to collaborate with them again!
Stephanie Jeremie
Director, Community Relations & Solidarity, Indigenous Youth Roots
People we have worked with
