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Connect and Grow Magazine - Edition 6 February 2024
Natalia has written another great article, this one with a focus on having respect for yourself and being able to set healthy boundaries in the workplace.
When you focus on yourself and respect who you are, you have healthy boundaries in place for all aspects of your life.
Be kind to yourself by setting clear boundaries at work.
Treating ourselves with love, kindness, and respect helps us to feel happier and healthier. It’s not indulgent nor selfish. When we fill up our ‘tank’, we have more resources and energy to draw from to be productive and of greater service to others.
One way to practice self-love is by setting healthy boundaries for ourselves.
Setting boundaries is not about shutting ourselves off from others, creating an oppositional or defiant stance, nor saying ‘No’ to everything. At its most fundamental level, this is about acknowledging our intrinsic worth and respecting our human rights.
This article and my experience with clients relate to creating and maintaining boundaries, mostly about work/life balance.
Setting boundaries relates to being intentional and clear about our expectations and preferences. Often, we don’t realise we have a preference until someone or something upsets us and ‘invades’ a boundary.
For instance, we don’t realise we prefer to have set work hours until a client rings us in the evening or on the weekend.
Our boundaries uphold standards and requirements to ensure we are respected. In a work context, we can also create boundary conditions relating to certain situations or people. For example, you may give certain people access to your work calendar, but you keep your personal one private.
The key is to work out what’s important to you and communicate clearly and kindly with others.
You don’t need to sit down to create a list of rules and boundaries. It’s a gradual process where you reflect as you go about your work and notice what makes you feel good and bad. If you are uncomfortable, you are entitled to object and express your expectations.
Afterwards, it’s helpful to seek support and reflect:
· What about the situation felt uncomfortable?
· Would it feel the same in a different situation or if someone else was involved?
· What behaviour or conditions would you prefer instead?
· How can you support yourself to stand by your revised expectations?
One way to set boundaries in a work context is through example: treating others as you wish to be treated and respecting other people’s boundaries, too. If needed, find support to help you deal with situations where you find it harder to express your expectations.
If you feel you’ve been put on the spot with a work request and are unsure of your decision, give yourself some time by answering “Thanks. I’ll get back to you on that.” Then, use the interim to work out what you want. This response also helps the person asking to realise that you might not say ‘yes’, making it easier to say ‘no’ if needed.
Setting boundaries and identifying our expectations is not a once-and-done thing. They get created and revised as we work and live life. Through trial and error, we work out what matters to us. We get better at honouring and being clear and kind in communicating with them. Consequently, when we treat ourselves with self-love, kindness, and respect, it’s easier for us to do this for others too.
Written by Natalia Walker
Natalia is available for consultations.
Email: natalia@innercreative.com.au
(C) 2024 Break Free Consultancy
Disclaimer: All information is general, and it is the responsibility of the reader to take from this article what is right for them. Always seek advice from the right person and professional.