Workplace boundaries: What are they and do we need them?

Achieving work-life balance isn’t just about finding that sweet spot between both our professional and personal lives; it’s about unlocking numerous benefits that help you live a healthy life across the board.

From boosting job performance and satisfaction to fostering career growth and warding off burnout, a balanced approach can be a game-changer. And it doesn't stop there. The benefits of balancing work and life spill over into our relationships, our health, and our overall wellbeing, offering a shield against stress, conflict, and their numerous detrimental effects.

While achieving balance is easier said than done, there are some simple steps you can take to find that sweet spot yourself and unlock the multitude of benefits it offers. Here’s how.

What is work-life balance?

Work-life balance is about feeling positive about your involvement and experiences in all the roles you have, work and outside of work – taking into account how important they each are to you. 

One way to achieve work-life balance is by setting some boundaries. Maintaining clear boundaries between your work and home life supports recovery from work-related stress and enhances engagement both at work and at home. Flexibility in managing these boundaries may help individuals navigate their various roles more smoothly, enabling them to find a balance that suits their lifestyle. 

For some people, flexi-time or childcare on-site mixes home and work and can save time, while not answering work calls on weekends separates out home time from work and allows time to rest and recover. 

Changes in technology and work structures have blurred the lines between work and home life and it’s a good time to consider how we work and live. 

Thinking about work boundaries

What boundaries are best for you depends on a collection of factors that may change over time. 

How do you personally value the different parts of your life? 

If your family is your priority, work interrupting your family time will be frustrating. If you’re focusing on your professional progression or building up a business, you might choose to work outside the 9-5. 

What is your personal inclination? 

Everyone has their own preferences on how they separate or blend the parts of their lives and working with that rather than fighting it may help  lower stress. 

What do your non-work roles require from you? 

Evaluating  what you need in order to be the person you want to be outside of work, be it time, space, energy or personal resources, helps you know what to protect. 

What does your work role require from you? 

Defining your job and what your duties require will help shape your needs. A plumber on a worksite is very different from a worker providing customer support from home, but both might need boundaries around overtime. 

What is the culture of your workplace? 

Unsurprisingly, workers often adjust their boundaries to fit expectations of their workplace. Taking this into account allows you to tailor your boundaries and find the best way to communicate them. This also shows how important it is for managers and supervisors to be aware of this aspect of their teams and to model the way they want their workers to set their boundaries. 

What boundaries are for me?

Now you know what you want, you can think about what boundaries will help you. Boundary setting is not only about creating strict boundaries, knowing when to move a boundary or how to be flexible can be as important. 

There are a variety of possible types of boundaries that may work for you, here are some suggestions to consider:

Physical

• Going to a workplace to work / having a particular space at home to work
• Blurring the background in a video call
• Choosing to have personal objects in your workspace or not
• Controlling your IT environment, what systems you have access to where (workplace, home, or phone)

Temporal – Time based

• Structured rosters versus  flexible work arrangements
• Setting ‘quiet time’ - limiting interactions to focus on tasks
• Deciding when or if to respond to work calls, texts or emails outside of working hours or personal calls or texts when at work
• Taking leave and holidays

Behavioural

• Delegation or working with your team to manage workloads
• Setting priorities or triaging tasks or projects
• Using systems like calendars, away messages, voicemail systems
• Using a commute or a routine at home to get out of the work headspace 
• Communicating your boundaries and managing expectations

Mental and Emotional

• Know how much personal information you will share with colleagues and about your work at home
• Consider how you interact with people at work, managing your social interaction to protect your emotional and mental energy

Summary

Setting and keeping boundaries can help your life in a lot of ways, but it isn’t always easy to do. 

Some workplaces are open to people managing their work environment this way, but others may be less receptive. Knowing that managing your work life balance not only helps you but also may help your productivity. Feeling like you have no control over your job causes stress and is linked with a higher chance of burnout. Setting boundaries allows you to improve your work-life balance and may give you more of a sense of control.

Often creating boundaries comes down to learning when and how to say “No” for your health and happiness. 

If you think you’re experiencing burnout, it’s important to speak to a healthcare professional for personalised advice to get the support you need.

Related reads:

• Mental health and wellness in the workplace
• What is workplace burnout?
• How to deal with work related stress (and not bring it home)

Reviewed by the healthylife Advisory Board May 2024.