After months of collaborative work across our three partner organisations, the first complete draft of the STAY Handbook is ready. The full six-part resource for youth workers is now in review and on track for open-access publication later this year.
The STAY Handbook is one of the central outputs of our Erasmus+ project. Its purpose is straightforward: to give youth workers a practical, evidence-based resource for recognising early disengagement in young people aged 18–28, opening honest conversations, and helping them build the communication and boundary-setting skills they need to stay constructively engaged in work and volunteering.
What the handbook covers
The draft covers all six planned parts, moving from conceptual grounding in the research on quiet quitting all the way to ready-to-run session plans and guidance on how organisations can embed these practices into everyday work.
PART I Understanding Quiet Quitting – what it is, why it happens, and what the research shows
PART II Early Recognition Toolkit – behavioural and emotional signals to spot before disengagement becomes entrenched
PART III Micro-skills & Conversation Scripts – practical language for naming issues, setting boundaries, and seeking support
PART IV Six Practice Sessions – ready-to-run workshops for youth work, employability, and non-formal learning contexts
PART V Pathways & Referrals – when and how to escalate, and who to involve at each level
PART VI Implementing in Organisations – routines, ethical structures, and hybrid approaches for embedding the STAY framework
Grounded in research, built for practice
Each part combines up-to-date research with concrete youth work methods – facilitated activities, role-play scripts, self-check tools, and session plans. The approach draws on validated frameworks including the Job Demands-Resources model, Conservation of Resources theory, and the Quiet Quitting Scale developed by Galanis et al. (2023).
Every session includes Youthpass-linked learning outcomes, so organisations that need to document participant competences can do so directly from the handbook.
The handbook also includes an inclusion lens throughout: specific attention is given to groups who are disproportionately at risk of quiet quitting – young people with disabilities, migrants and minority youth, those from rural areas, and young women in male-dominated settings.
What comes next
UPCOMING MILESTONES
- Partner review of the full draft – feedback due end of May
- Translation into four languages (EN, ES, IS, HR) beginning in June
- Quiet Circles pilot workshops in each partner country – 15 young people per session, with Youthpass certificates
- Engagement & Quiet-Quitting Risk Scanner in development – launch planned for Q3 2026
- Open-access publication of the final handbook on the project website
If your organisation works with young people aged 18–28 and you are interested in piloting the handbook or joining the STAY Engagement Campaign, we would love to hear from you.
