What does it mean to care for another person’s child(ren) or to help a person feel joy, freedom, or acceptance? These experiences are brought to you by our camp staff . . . those young adults whose energy and enthusiasm brightens a camper’s day.

Would you believe that this work could be connected to an individual's well-being? 

Many young adult camp staff arrive seeking balance and harmony across their personal and work responsibilities. Staff may try to protect their energy and mood levels, while also facilitating impactful camper experiences. This dual focus may create friction during those hard, stressful days that happen in any camp program. Camp leaders may not be able to remove all job stressors, but building a foundation of well-being supports staff members’ ability to anticipate challenges, recognize emotions, and respond appropriately.

Recent research conducted by the Alliance of Camp Health indicated that many camps are addressing staff self-care through intentional staff scheduling practices (e.g., separating rest breaks from program planning periods), providing staff only spaces and activities, and establishing a staff support system (Owens et al., 2025). Furthermore, the research also indicated that the more often camp administrators discussed self-care practices with staff, the more likely staff members were observed engaging in self-care during their employment period. Camps can support staff well-being and may consider applying the PERMA Model of well-being (Seligman, 2011) as a holistic approach.

PERMA is composed of five well-being factors: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. These factors can be measured and addressed individually or when addressed together, can support overall personal well-being and flourishing in life (Seligman, 2011). Below, each factor is described and applied to the camp environment.

Positive Emotion: Experiencing happiness and life satisfaction

Camp staff members’ interests and needs vary. Without creating countless options, ask staff for their ideas before they arrive and create substantive perks like: 

• Schedule staff members for separate rest and program planning breaks. This separation allows staff to rest or engage in rejuvenating activities (appropriate to the site and camp) without feeling the pressure to work on a designated project during limited breaks.
• Provide a staff-only area where they can rest or hang out with each other.
• Facilitate staff-only experiences that support peer bonding and fun.

Engagement: Immersing yourself in an experience or activity

Working in a camp environment is an immersive experience, but are there ways that staff can experience timelessness through:

• Allowing staff to utilize camp equipment or supplies during their breaks or rest periods to engage in their hobbies (e.g., arts and crafts supplies or sports equipment)
• Schedule staff to teach an activity that they enjoy doing themselves

Relationship: Connecting to supportive individuals

Connection with others is a core tenant of camp. Beyond positive peer relationships, providing a staff support system is important to fostering well-being such as: 

• Contracting with a licensed provider (on-site or telehealth) to provide staff with professional guidance during times of on-the-job stress or unforeseen issues.
• Consciously delegate staff mental health or well-being responsibilities so staff managers are not over-extended and at risk of burnout themselves.
• Empower veteran staff to mentor new staff or create positive bonding experiences.

Meaning: Contributing to something greater than yourself

Caring for others, as we do at camp, is meaningful, but we can easily lose track of this perspective. Applying the meaning of our work to well-being may look like: 

• Embedding moments of reflection into all-staff or one-on-one meetings. (e.g., How did you support or make someone else’s day today? How could you tell?)
• Using intentional questions or phrases in conversations to facilitate meaning-making (e.g., What was good today? What made it good or positive?)

Accomplishment: Achieving a goal of personal importance

Camp employment can be a growth-oriented experience with opportunities for healthy risk-taking and working toward goals. We can facilitate these experiences further by: 

• Helping staff set personal and professional goals during staff training and revisiting those goals across the camp season.
• Acknowledging that periods of job stress are common and expected but not impossible to overcome or manage (e.g., mid-summer slump or camper meltdowns). Communicate your confidence in their abilities and how you might help them navigate the challenges.
• Celebrate all sizes of wins and achievements, personally (e.g., a “way to go” note) or publicly (e.g., “Everyone give it up for [staff] who did this amazing thing!”)

We know that our young adult staff are developing, which includes their ability to recognize and address personal well-being. Taking the extra step to broaden their understanding of well-being to include nuanced aspects of the camp environment can enhance their life skill toolbox.

References

Owens, M.H., Skrocki, A., & Van Scoy, M. (2025). Camp staff self-care practices: What are we encouraging? What are we observing? Alliance for Camp Health CompassPoint, 35(2), 20-25.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Photo courtesy of Camp Moon River at Savannah Country Day School in Savannah, Georgia

This blog was written on behalf of ACA's Project Real Job, whose goal is to support camps in their efforts to recruit, hire, and retain staff. 

Megan Owens, PhD, has worked with camping programs for 25 years as a camp counselor, waterfront director, staff trainer, board member, volunteer, ACA Accreditation visitor, consultant, and educator in addition to managing camp and youth programs for community parks and recreation agencies. Her teaching and research center on youth development, MESH, and administrative practices across the summer camp industry. Megan is a member of the Alliance for Camp Health Research Advisory and the ACA National Standards Commission. Megan can be reached at [email protected].