BY ANGELA HAUPT
SETTING BOUNDARIES AT work—in this economy—might seem like a pipe dream. Not be available 24/7? Not smile and accept every new assignment? Not push back when a colleague tries to steal your time?
It could be your best career (and mental-health) move: establishing expectations for what you will and will not tolerate is key to increasing productivity and well-being. “Boundaries are limits or personal rules that protect your time and energy and allow you to perform at your best,” says social worker Melody Wilding. “Everyone likes certainty and clarity, and that’s what boundaries provide.”
Sticking up for yourself is particularly essential, she adds, when you consider how many people are burned out or plain old fed up at work. According to the American Psychological Association’s latest Work in America survey, 19% of employees say their workplace is very or somewhat toxic, and 22% believe that work has harmed their mental health. Workers describe feeling emotionally exhausted, ineffective, and unmotivated, and admit to being irritable with their co-workers or customers. Meanwhile, only 40% report that time off is respected, 35% say their workplace culture encourages breaks, and 29% note that their managers encourage employees to take care of their mental health.
Enter boundaries. Setting them can be hard, WildingW acknowledges—but practice helps. With that in mind, we asked experts how to set boundaries around five common work scenarios:
1. If your boss routinely Slacks you at 10 p.m.
The line between work and home is so blurred, it’s practically indecipherable. If your manager repeatedly pings you after you’ve logged off for the day, consider communicating a boundary like this: “I’ll be fully present at work, but I need to know that I’m also permitted to fully commit to my home life,” suggests Amy Cooper Hakim, a practitioner of industrial-organizational psychology. If that’s not practical in your industry, and you’ll need to be at least somewhat available, you can still set a boundary. For example, you might say, “When I step out the door, I’m going to be with my family. However, I appreciate that urgent things happen, so I’ll check my email once a night at 9 p.m.”
2. If your time off is interrupted
You’d probably prefer not to take your colleagues along on vacation—but a stubborn few might insist on showing up in electronic form. Hakim advises s
