Workplace Burnout

What are Boundaries in the Workplace?

There are two types of boundaries that we can implement in the workplace to prevent workplace burnout; personal boundaries and professional boundaries. In this article, we will focus on the personal boundaries that you can implement to protect your mental health in the workplace and prevent workplace burnout.

Personal boundaries are the boundaries we set within and between our relationships at work. Our personal boundaries define how we allow ourselves to be treated by others, and by ourselves. We can teach others how we want to be treated by how we employ our personal boundaries.

For example, you might clearly define and communicate your working hours in your email signature. This sets expectations for your team and your clients so that they know when they can expect to hear back from you.

Another example of a personal boundary at work is saying no to unreasonable requests or tasks that are outside of your job description. Ultimately, “no” is a full sentence, meaning that you don’t need to explain yourself, especially if the request is unreasonable. However, it can sometimes feel easier to be prepared with a response such as “No, not now” or “No, that isn’t part of my job description and will take energy away from my key focus.”

It’s important to be prepared for colleagues or managers to be upset with you when you start implementing such boundaries and stop taking on additional work. However, just because someone is upset by a boundary, doesn’t mean the boundary is wrong. Often what it means is that the individual was benefitting from your previous lack of boundaries.

Generally, this upset doesn’t last long, and if you hold your ground, soon they will begin to respect your boundaries and may even implement a few of their own.

Why is it important to have workplace boundaries?

Developing boundaries in the workplace is important because they allow us to devote our time and energy to our actual work, rather than to additional work, unreasonable requests, or office politics. We only have so much time and energy, so in furtherance of being able to use our time and energy effectively, we need to have strong workplace boundaries. Otherwise (and the truth may hurt) you are placing yourself at risk of occupational (workplace) burnout.

Another benefit of having strong workplace boundaries is that they signal to our brains when it is time to switch off from work and devote our time and energy to our personal lives. Many companies give their employees work phones and work laptops, which increases their flexibility, in terms of being able to work from home, however, it also blurs the lines between work and home life, giving the message to employees that they should be contactable anywhere, and at any time. This can lead to an increased probability of workplace burnout in employees.

Setting clear start and finish times for your work day can allow your brain to switch gears and focus on your home and personal life outside of work hours with fewer workplace distractions.

Boundaries at work-the advantages of creating personal boundaries at work

As well as being able to switch gears, there are plenty of other advantages to having strong workplace boundaries.

During working hours you will have more time for your own work, being able to focus on the task at hand and the tasks that will have the biggest impact rather than getting bogged down in work that is not your responsibility.

Your colleagues will also have a clearer understanding of where they stand with you, they will know what to expect and will eventually stop placing unreasonable demands on your time and energy.

The more available you are to your colleagues and higher-ups, the more they will expect you to be available to them. Colleagues and employers who expect you to be available whenever they need you will soon learn that this isn’t the case and will learn to respect your boundaries, and your time, themselves.

With all of these benefits, you will inherently begin to experience less stress and overwhelm at work, which will also spill into less work stress and overwhelm in your personal life.

Let’s be clear about one thing-there are times when we will need to step up to the plate and help, i.e., go the extra mile, cover somebody who is off work, or take on a little more work than is normally expected of us. The problem is when this becomes the norm, rather than the exception, because when it becomes the norm, you will, over time suffer the consequences, i.e., increased levels of stress, physical symptoms of burnout as well as the psychological symptoms of workplace burnout. And both you, as well as your employer, will suffer as a result.

Boundaries at work-the disadvantages of creating personal boundaries at work

However, as with most things, there is a balance and where there are advantages, there are also some disadvantages to setting boundaries at work.

As previously discussed, your boundaries may initially upset some people as they realise that you are no longer willing to take on work outside of your purview, work outside of your working hours, or bend over backwards for them.

Because of this upset, you may experience a sense of guilt. Your guilt feelings will tell you that you “should” be helping colleagues or that you “should” be working at all hours to meet the deadline (every week). Guilt tells us when we’ve done something wrong, and is a powerful course corrector.

However, guilt is also linked to empathy; someone who experiences a lot of empathy for others will likely experience more guilt when they aren’t able to help or when they do something detrimental to someone else. Increased empathy is probably one of the reasons you found yourself bending over backwards for colleagues in the first place.

In this case, experiencing guilt doesn’t mean you’re doing the wrong thing.

How to create healthy workplace boundaries

The first step to creating healthy boundaries is to be clear with yourself about what your boundaries are going to be, and why.

It is important to be clear, with yourself first of all, about what your non-negotiables are. Your non-negotiables are the boundaries that you are never willing to break, whereas others might be more flexible.

For example, you might never work weekends, but be happy to work late during the week when needed. Or, you might be happy to answer urgent emails over the weekend, but not take your work phone or laptop on holidays. You might work in a seasonal industry where some parts of the year are much busier than others. Which boundaries are you willing to be flexible with during these busy periods and which are you going to hold firm to?

Once you are clear yourself about your non-negotiables, you can start to communicate these with your colleagues and team members.

It might be helpful to ease yourself into the process of setting boundaries at work, so that it isn’t such a shock to the system, by picking one or two boundaries to implement at a time.

For example, if you can feel that your work is encroaching on your family time, perhaps it is a good idea to start by strengthening your boundaries around your working hours. You might do this by setting a meeting with your manager to discuss only working during your contracted hours, and then activating an “out of office” automatic email that will trigger if someone contacts you outside of these hours.

Perhaps you feel that your concentration and productivity are always flagging by mid-afternoon. You might benefit from ensuring you take your full lunch break by leaving the building during your lunch hour rather than eating at your desk or with colleagues. Leaving the building, getting outside, and leaving your work phone and laptop behind can give you that physical and mental space that you need to rejuvenate yourself for the afternoon’s work.

Be clear in your mind about what you are, and are not, prepared to do for your job. Are you prepared to miss dinner at home? If so, how many times per week? Are you prepared to miss your child’s parent-teacher meeting? Once you are clear on these boundaries, you are more ready and able to stand your ground and speak up when they are crossed.

Take some time to think about who you normally feel crosses your boundaries at work or takes advantage of you. As you read that, did someone come to mind? Think about the kinds of things they ask of you, the ways they cross your boundaries and how you might respond in the future. Being prepared with a response can help you feel less blindsided. You might respond with “No, I am not able to take on this workload within my current role.” or “No, that doesn’t come under my job, however, I’m confident in your knowledge on the topic and encourage you to take the lead.”

You might consider setting up micro-boundaries in your workday to protect your mental health at work such as blocking out uninterrupted time in your calendar to engage in focused work, clarifying whether you are truly needed in meetings that seem unnecessary to your job role or clarifying your working hours in your email signature.

Self-care at work

One of the main tenets of self-care is that we can only function to the best of our ability when we take care of ourselves first. If we are running ourselves ragged doing favours for other people, burning the candle at both ends, or taking on additional, unnecessary work, we will be depleted.

And when we are depleted not only does our own work suffer, but we have a shorter temper, we increasingly suffer from stress, anxiety, and depression, and we are more likely to engage in unhealthy habits in order to cope, such as unhealthy eating, poor sleeping habits, and possibly drinking a little more alcohol than we should.

These are all symptoms of workplace burnout.

Our working life is a marathon, not a sprint. Engaging in self-care at work reduces our risk of workplace burnout, improves our resilience during stressful times, and increases the longevity of our careers.

Workplace boundaries-some considerations when setting boundaries at work

When starting to implement boundaries at work, there are a few things you might want to consider.

Firstly, you should consider whether the boundary is reasonable. Are you trying to say “no” to something that is a key part of your job description? Or is it a legitimate and acceptable boundary?

You also need to consider whether you are putting the boundary in place to protect yourself from being taken advantage of, or because you want to do the bare minimum. Are you implementing the boundary to ensure you can continue working to the best of your ability, or because you’re bored with the work that you’re doing and don’t want to do it anymore? If you find that the latter is the more likely answer, you may want to consider the longer-term implications, as this may impact your career progression.

If your workplace boundaries are implemented in a “clean” way-if you’ve considered the reasoning behind them, how they will impact yourself and others, that they’re legitimate boundaries, and that they’ve been communicated in a clear and considerate manner-you shouldn’t have any issues, other than the initial upset discussed earlier.

Working from home

Working from home, as well as hybrid working, brings with it many advantages, but also some disadvantages when it comes to the blurring of lines between work and home life. Therefore, there are a few additional considerations when applying workplace boundaries, in order to protect yourself from workplace burnout.

For example, does your start and finish time change or stay the same? Do you account for your usual commute time? How many hours will you be at your desk each day? At what time in the evening will you turn off your work emails and be “un-contactable” by colleagues and clients?

Given that most of us move less when we are working from home – no commute, no walking to and from colleagues’ offices or meetings, and so on – will you protect some time each day to go for a walk and get some fresh air?