When I was in Corporate America, I struggled to set boundaries in the workplace. I was an Executive Assistant at global businesses that were highly sought after places of employment, and I always felt that the expectation that was set for me was that work came first. It wasn’t a work-to-live environment; it always felt more like a live-to-work environment.
I am very Type A, am able to multitask and keep up with a fast paced environment with high demands and expectations, but all of these things made it feel impossible for me to be successful at setting boundaries in the workplace. I leaned heavily on my daily calm practices to help with stress management, but they weren’t enough.
Ultimately, I realized that my passion and life purpose were to be a Certified Life Coach in Texas, which led me to retire from the pressure-driven world of Corporate America, but even working for myself, I still struggled with personal boundaries in the workplace! This came as a big surprise to me! I’d always heard that phrase, ‘when you move you take yourself with you,’ and I was living it! I’d moved out of the pressure and expectations, but I had gotten so used to them that I ended up setting them for myself!
Imagine my shock and surprise when I realized I wasn’t respecting boundaries in the workplace, as I wasn’t respecting my own need to turn off and decompress! As a Certified Life Coach in Dallas who is her own boss, you’d think this wouldn’t happen, but I am a firm believer that as a healer, I go first so that I can lead the way for others.
Workplace Boundaries Examples
If you want to be successful at setting boundaries in a workplace, you first need to get clear on what boundaries mean to you. This is personal for everyone, but to get your mind going, think about the things that shock your system and give you a jolt of stress. A personal example for me was when it was expected that I take my Blackberry phone (I just aged myself) with me to the bathroom…it was also expected that I answer it while in the bathroom. That’s a shock to the system for sure!
Why Boundaries At The Workplace Matter
Despite what modern day society leads us to believe, we are not machines. We are not meant to be on all of the time, and our nervous systems are not built for endless stress and little play and rest.
If you jump at a sound that doesn’t warrant such an extreme reaction, or if you easily feel overstimulated and want to do something like throw everything away to regain control, you are dangerously close to burnout, and burnout can lead to a variety of mental and physical heath issues.
10 Ways to Set Healthy Boundaries At Work
Some of these things I did while I was still in Corporate America, others I didn’t figure out until I was a solopreneur still struggling with the lack of work boundaries.
- When interviewing for a new role I inquired about workplace boundaries and work life balance to make sure the company was aligned with my desire to have a life outside of work.
- Before the end of my workday when there was still enough time left to do work, I asked if anyone needed me to do anything before I left at 5pm.
- I shut the email notifications off on my phone. I know I’m getting emails and I know I’ll check them, but I don’t need them disrupting my peace when I’m relaxing.
- I ditched the urgency culture and stopped feeling like I had to respond the moment I received a message.
- I set out of office messages and abide by them.
- I time chunk my day so when it’s work time I can brainstorm, create and do work, and when it’s play time I don’t do those things.
- I limit work talk when I’m out with loved ones. It’s easy to commiserate with coworkers or others who are stressed out at work, but that just raises stress levels.
- I stopped touching my phone at red lights and in traffic. First of all this is just not a good idea for safety, but it’s also not a good idea from a boundaries perspective!
- I learned more about boundaries in general, at work and in life.
- I enjoy my life outside of work. This is a big one! As a Dallas Life Coach I often have clients who say they ‘re dissatisfied with work but as we dig into things we find out that they’re just giving everything to their jobs because they don’t have anything fulfilling happening in their personal lives! As we bolster that up work stresses melt away!
If you’re feeling burned out, if you’re uncertain of what comes next in your career or if you’d like to explore your career options, let’s talk. Apply for a free clarity call today – you can live anywhere and coach with me.
