Boundaries At Work!

Are You Honoring Yourself by Enforcing Your Boundaries?

I was talking to a young lady last week who said she quit her passion because the demands were too much.

A lack of boundaries at work will take time and energy from you and you’ll become unproductive and ineffective.

Workplace stress and workloads are key drivers of burnout.

𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 #𝟏 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬.

The biggest problem is that most people think they have no choice. But that’s not really true.

If this is you, you are probably constantly complaining about the lack of time. Your days are crazy and stressful.

Self-employed or not you have too much on your plate, dealing with clients, suppliers, service providers, regulators, and your team, and then home.

You are pulled in so many directions!!!

This is exactly why you need boundaries.

Boundaries are necessary for us to protect ourselves from harm. It is a clear request of someone else with a clear consequence that you will take action when the boundary is crossed.

Healthy boundaries are those that you put in place to ensure that you are safe emotionally and mentally.

For example, asking a co-worker to not make demands on your time or, physical, like asking a co-worker to not touch you because you do not find it appropriate.

Without clear boundaries, people will do whatever they please with you in your space because they can.

Here are the reasons you need to set healthy boundaries.

1. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 – you are telling the other person that you are clear about your individuality.

2. 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 – you are letting the other person know that you will not compromise your feelings over their actions towards you.

3. 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫 – you want to show the other person how they treat you. And when they do not agree you decide the consequences and act on them.

4. 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐭 – you want to make sure you do not overstretch.

5. 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 – making decisions based on what’s best for you.

6. 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 – when you reduce the stress you encourage emotional wellbeing and therefore good mental health.

Healthy boundaries help manage demand on your time. Unnecessary or uninvited demands cause us to have #resentment, #anger, and #burnout.

Here's how you honor your boundaries.

Carve out time to know what's urgent vs what's important. Understand your own values and priorities.
Communicate your boundaries very clearly and specifically e.g. "if I must stay late today I will not have enough rest, therefore, I will need some time off tomorrow morning to recuperate so I can be as. productive as I am expected to be".
Delegate whenever it's necessary. Allow yourself to let go of the need to do it all, your need to seek perfection.
Do not be afraid to say 'NO' e.g. "I am afraid I will not be able to deliver it in the time you expect, I have several priorities lined up which are of high importance."
Take some time off. Everyone deserves it. Even you. If it will not be given to you then simply take it. Do not hold yourself hostage creating success for others who do not appreciate your efforts.

Once you have your boundaries in place honor them before you expect others to honor them, and make sure you honor your set consequences.

So how are you fairing with your boundaries at work?

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