This video goes over 10 scenarios that show the “hidden” workplace rules individuals may not know about. The video scenarios and accompanying workbook show strategies individuals can use to get along in the workplace and reduce their stress in new situations. The video illustrates two useful strategies which guide individuals to assess social situations and figure out the best response.

The SODA strategy (Stop-Observe-Decide-Act) is a tool that helps an individual plan what to do in any social situation, including at the workplace. The SODA strategy has steps the individual can follow to attend to relevant social cues, process these cues, and then select specific skills to use to successfully participate in social interactions. Scenarios 1-7 show some common workplace situations that may be new or stressful to the individual, where the SODA strategy is used to help choose what to do or say.

Scenarios 8-10 show stressful situations where the use of the positive reframing strategy (also called cognitive reframing) helps with self-regulation. These scenarios identify negative thoughts that the individual may have about a situation and recommends a set of questions which support them to think of positive alternatives. By stepping back and positively reframing the individual can look at the situation in another way.

The video is divided into two sections, section one shows the scenario with pauses throughout to highlight the strategy that could be used in that instance. Section two shows the same scenario with no stoppages giving you the opportunity to practice using the strategy with the participant. We suggest going through section one with the job seeker first before going through section two.

This disk comes with a Facilitator’s Guide and Participant’s Companion