Setting boundaries in the workplace is essential for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Boundaries are guidelines implemented to establish what's acceptable and what's not acceptable to you in regard to work. Because everyone has different priorities and needs, boundaries will vary from person to person.

Boundaries are critical to safeguarding yourself from uncomfortable situations, extreme stress, and burnout. This article will explain how to set healthy boundaries at work and provide several examples.

Setting healthy boundaries step 1: IDENTIFY STRESS TRIGGERS.

To avoid stressors, you must first identify them. The key is to be honest with yourself about your feelings. For example, while some people don't mind knocking out a few tasks after-hours, some people get extremely stressed when they see work-related messages come through after they've already settled into "family time.” Take time to carefully consider the things that make you uncomfortable and/or stress you out.

Setting healthy boundaries step 2: DRAW THE LINES IN THE SAND.

Once you've identified your stressors, it's time to devise a list of boundaries that will minimize the likelihood of encountering them. For example, if the after-hours messages are the stressor, your boundary might be that you will snooze all work notifications (email, team messaging apps, etc.) after 5:30 PM. The key is to draw the line where it makes sense for both your life and your job, creating that desired work-life harmony.

Setting healthy boundaries step 3: COMMUNICATE YOUR BOUNDARIES EFFECTIVELY.

To maximize the benefits of setting boundaries, everyone needs to be aware and on board. I mean, people can’t be expected to abide by rules they don’t even know exist. So, communicate your boundaries early and often! Behind simply not having boundaries at all, communication of boundaries is the place I see most professionals drop the ball.

Setting healthy boundaries step 4: PLAN YOUR RESPONSE TO VIOLATIONS EARLY.

Violations will occur. Planning your response in advance helps de-stress. Draft brief, to-the-point messages for violators, and keep them in your phone notes and email drafts. That way, all you have to do is copy and paste the appropriate message and send it on its way! Whether you do this the following business day or the night of, that’s your prerogative.

Some sample boundaries include:

Taking time off and completely unplugging. Use your PTO and remove the "I'll have limited access to email during this time" from your out-of-office message. Leave the laptop behind and uninstall work apps from your phone so you can truly disconnect.
Not responding after hours. Rarely are the messages ever truly critical. The work will be there when you log on in the morning. Note: If you're worried you might miss something critical, provide an alternate way to contact you (not the regular channels of email and team messaging) if you're desperately needed.
Turning down tasks that are outside of your scope of work. Without feeling bad about it. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Realistically, you can only do a few things with true excellence, so make sure those are the right things rather than items you've been assigned because you're afraid to say "No."

As long as your boundaries don't directly conflict with your job description or what you signed up to do, you should feel empowered to set and enforce them. Although some people still glorify "hustle culture,” please know that to be your best professional self, you must have balance!

Next Steps

Identify one boundary you can set at work this week. Also, if you haven't done so already, be sure to check out The Winner’s Circle where we share many other tips for “winning the week”.