In this age of constant interconnectivity, it can be impossible to disconnect from work or set healthy boundaries around your work-life balance. Here are a few ways to set (and maintain) healthy boundaries for your life—and your work.
Building your career and reaching your professional goals requires time, effort, and dedication. However, things can get a little too overwhelming when you’re already putting in the hours Monday to Friday while juggling additional work or unfair hours because you want to please your boss or coworkers.
A stress-free job hardly exists, but to avoid feeling even more frustrated, dissatisfied, and burned out with your job, it’s important to set healthy boundaries and protect your personal space, time, and energy.
What are healthy boundaries?
Healthy boundaries are those you set to ensure mental and emotional stability. Due to the socially tense environment a workplace may create in some cases, it may be vital to one’s health and mental stability to set healthy boundaries at work.
Setting work boundaries is a simple yet effective solution to achieving a work-life balance, but it’s not always the easiest to establish in an environment such as the workplace. For example, some employees would rather keep silent to avoid being perceived as “harsh,” “demanding,” or “overstepping authority.”
Understandably, no one wants to risk getting fired, but communicating your boundaries is not bad! There are many ways to initiate clear boundaries at work with grace, poise, and respect.
How you can positively and professionally set healthy boundaries at work
1. Work outside office hours: Communicate and reschedule
Last-minute projects requiring overtime or emergencies that need immediate attention on the weekends are everyday incidents at work. What’s not normal is when working outside of office hours becomes the standard in your routine.
You didn’t sign up to work around the clock, 24/7, so it’s okay to discuss your current schedule with your boss and revisit your contract regarding your working hours. But again, be a team player and collaborate with them to adjust schedules and create plans that work best for you and the company
2. Credit grabbing: Sharing directly with your superiors
Teamwork is essential, but when your coworker continuously pitches your ideas as their own and gets the credit for them, it can leave you feeling bitter and disrespected. In situations like these where you have little to no evidence that can prove it was your idea in the first place, it’s best not to point fingers and instead put up an unspoken boundary.
Make it a habit to keep the details of your ideas to yourself so the next time your superior calls for a meeting, you can directly share your ideas with them at that time. Another option would be to share your proposal with your boss and team through an email thread. This way, you still play in a group while displaying your potential and initiative.
3. Excellent performance, low salary: Negotiate based on facts
Setting your boundaries also means knowing your worth. You work hard at your job to earn money. When you notice that the amount of work you put in every day is not equal to the paycheck you are receiving, it’s time to talk with your superiors.
Negotiate your request for a salary raise based on facts — your hard work. Show them the hours you’ve put in, your contributions to the company, projects, ideas, and even statistics. Once they see how your efforts benefited the company, they will likely comply with a raise.
4. Unlimited favors: Learn to say ‘no’
Doing favors once in a while is fine, but when you’re busy, and your coworker asks you to solve their problems, it’s time to use the magic word. Rejecting requests that put you on the spot isn’t selfish. It sets boundaries about what you are comfortable or not comfortable doing for others. If you don’t have the time and energy to do what they’re asking you, why agree to do it?
Of course, giving a flat “no” can come off as harsh or aggressive. It’s best to be polite and explain your side of things! You can also use more casual or assertive alternatives depending on the situation. It’s tempting to want to make everyone happy, but in the end, you’ll be doing it at your own expense.
