Here’s How To Set Clear Boundaries In The Workplace

1. Consider your priorities.

image source: reddit.com

Before you even think about setting boundaries, think about what you want to get out of this exercise. Do you want a clearer boundary between your work and home life? Do you want to avoid awkward encounters with your colleagues outside of work? Think about what you want out of your professional career, and what your priorities are.

2. Think about your feelings.

image source: reddit.com

It might help to first think about how things in your job make you feel, rather than considering specific boundaries to employ. Do you feel irrational anger when someone messages you at 6pm and asks you to do something for them? Are you always asked to create minutes for meetings even though you hate it? Spend a week documenting your feelings, then pull boundaries out of those notes.

3. Think about what you want to share.

image source: reddit.com

It's normal to share things about your life with your coworkers. But sometimes, this can go too far. If you're uncomfortable with that blurred line between home and work, create a list of topics that you feel comfortable talking about, and then don't go into the others.

4. And when you want to share it.

image source: reddit.com

As well as discovering the things you want to share with your coworkers, you also need to consider when you want to share them. For example, news of an engagement isn't something your coworkers are required to know about, and it's up to you to think about when you feel most comfortable revealing personal things to others.

5. Stick to your principles.

image source: reddit.com

Your boundaries should be developed alongside your personal morals, priorities and principles. So, if you're persuaded by HR to include something in your personal boundaries that doesn't feel right, stop. Your boundaries should be a reflection of what you believe, not anyone else.

6. Check-in with yourself frequently.

image source: reddit.com

Your boundaries can change as you progress in a job or just get older. That's why it's important to check-in with yourself, and your boundaries, often so that you can be sure that they align with what you want to get out of your job and your professional career. Additionally, you might find some boundaries aren't necessary anymore!

7. Give yourself permission.

image source: reddit.com

You're going to feel guilty about setting boundaries if you don't first give yourself permission to set them. Remember that doing this is all down to you, and it's also a way to make your work life more enjoyable for you. You deserve to have boundaries in the workplace.

8. Work on your communication skills.

image source: reddit.com

There's no point setting boundaries if nobody else knows about them. A key part of setting boundaries is talking about them with your colleagues, including your manager and anyone who you manage. This can be scary but remember, telling them is the first step to making changes to your work life.

9. Take frequent time off.

image source: reddit.com

Developing a boundary between home and work life requires time off from work. Don't expect to develop good boundaries if it seems like you're always in the office and always available to take on extra work. So, take the holidays you're allotted, and don't feel bad about maxing them out every year.

10. Make sure things stay professional.

image source: reddit.com

It's really nice to have a work bestie, but if you don't want to mix your personal and work life, then this relationship can get tricky to manage. It's okay to want to keep your work friends separate from the people who've known you your whole life. So, keep your relationships strictly professional at work.

11. Respect everyone else's boundaries.

image source: reddit.com

Don't set your own boundaries if you're not going to respect your colleague's boundaries. Check in with them, ask if they're okay, and whether anything you've done has upset one of their boundaries. Chances are, if you act like you respect their boundaries, they'll respect yours, too.

12. Think about your environment.

image source: reddit.com

How chummy are the people in your office? Are they going to be offended if you never turn up for after-work drinks? Could it actually make things difficult with your boss? When setting your boundaries, it's important to at least consider how they'll gel with the wider culture at your company.

13. Set yourself limits.

image source: reddit.com

Boundaries are useless if you're not tracking how well they're working. If you can, set targets or limits for yourself. This can be really helpful if you're constantly taking on more work and but want to stop this from happening. So, set concrete limits on working hours, time spent doing extra work, or hours worked on the weekend.

14. Create a routine.

image source: reddit.com

Your colleagues are more likely to respect your boundaries if they're clear and obvious. So, if you do your best work in the morning and are sick of being disturbed, set a DND on your email and calendar. Tell your boss that you want to do some deep work at that time and that meetings should be scheduled later in the day.

15. Give clear instructions to your colleagues.

image source: reddit.com

If part of your boundaries involves delegating work to other people, then make sure that you're giving them clear instructions about what to do. If not, this simple task could turn into something that makes everything more stressful for you, your colleagues, and your boss.

16. Start learning to say no.

image source: reddit.com

This is a vital skill in life, but we're often quite worried about bringing it into the workplace. However, saying no is the start of a healthy professional life. Saying no means you're getting vocal about your boundaries, and also reinforces your general job responsibilities with the people in your team.

17. Get out of the gossip mill.

image source: reddit.com

Gossip mills can be fun for new employees - you feel like you're part of the gang and in on the goings-on around the office. But gossiping can have the consequence of breaking many people's boundaries, and if you're trying to set your own, that's really counter-productive.

18. Always take your required breaks.

image source: reddit.com

It can be so easy to work through lunch, especially when you've just started a job and want to make a good impression. But before you know it, you're working through every break - ones that you're required to take by law! So, nip that in the bud early - it's an important part of setting boundaries.

19. Learn to communicate your feelings.

image source: reddit.com

It's not just about communicating your boundaries with people, but also about learning to talk when you feel disappointed in someone. When someone oversteps, you need to bring this up with them, otherwise what's the point in having boundaries in the first place?

20. Remember to have empathy.

image source: reddit.com

It's easy to just think about yourself when you're setting your boundaries. But remember that you work somewhere with a lot of other people, and telling other people how to act around you and what not to do may not go down particularly well. So, have empathy and think about others when setting your boundaries.

21. Know when to ask for help.

image source: reddit.com

It's easy to think that setting personal boundaries is a job for you and you alone. However, many companies will have people there to help you if there's a problem in the workplace, such as Human Resources, or mentors. So, if you need to, ask someone for help with the problems you're having and how to solve them.

22. Always set an out of office message.

image source: pinterest.com

Those long weekends where you're technically 'off' but really you're waiting for emails to come through constantly? That's no good way to start boundary setting. So, next time you go away, set a firm out of office message and delete your mails app from your phone. You'll feel better for it.

23. Think about technology.

image source: reddit.com

Technology can be a great solution to setting boundaries in the work place. From automated messages when you're in deep work mode to different Google calendars depending on what you're working on, look for tech solutions that make it easier to set your boundaries and communicate them with your team.

24. Keep your weekends free.

image source: pinterest.com

Like working through lunch, working weekends is a slippery slope, especially if you don't have clearly-defined working hours. However, it's important to set some limits somewhere, and keeping your weekends free can be the start of that. After that, let's see if we can get rid of evening work, shall we?

25. You have to be honest.

image source: reddit.com

This can be really difficult if you're a born people pleaser. It's hard to explain to people why things make you uncomfortable, and why you need to set new boundaries. However, being honest is only going to get easier the more you do it, and it'll make it easier for your colleagues if you don't hide what makes you uncomfortable.

26. Think about how to build professional relationships.

image source: reddit.com

Instead of inviting your work best friends to your wedding or going on holiday together, you might instead try and consider your work colleagues as professional friends rather than personal. So, instead of drinking on a weekend, suggest a conference that you might all attend and network together.

27. Think about what happens when a boundary is broken.

image source: reddit.com

How are you going to respond when a colleague breaks one of your boundaries? You might think that once you've set those rules and communicated them it'll never happen - but it might. It's important to remain polite and professional when this happens, but also be firm about what's happened.

28. Don't dilute your boundaries.

image source: reddit.com

Are you concerned about how your work colleagues are going to react to these new rules?  Banish that thought from your mind right now. When establishing your boundaries, be empathetic to their concerns, but don't be tempted to dilute your boundaries just to appease anyone.

29. Consider what your job requires.

image source: reddit.com

When establishing boundaries relating to your professional work, you don't want to include anything that's not actually in your job description. So, go back to your initial work contract and identify everything that's actually part of your job - that way, you won't be tempted to pick up extra work that you shouldn't be doing.

30. Keep a paper trail.

image source: reddit.com

Every person should take this tip into their professional life, whether they plan on setting new boundaries or not. A paper trail, with evidence of interactions with your colleagues and senior managers, can make it a lot easier to identify behaviors you're uncomfortable with, and what you don't want to see happen again.