Loving others by setting boundaries!
How do we "Love at work"? We begin with love because Jesus lived a life of love and commands us to follow. “Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
Love is not optional for leaders who claim to follow Jesus. Often a leader who loves their people may appear to be weak, soft, or over empathetic. But don’t misunderstand practicing love at work as any of these characteristics. This is not just love, the emotion. This is love, the verb. This is love, the action.
“Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
One way you can show “love the action” at work, is by setting healthy boundaries.
Why is healthy boundary-setting important?
Setting and respecting healthy boundaries is a way of showing compassion to not only others but also ourselves. It is such a great way to create a work environment that fosters productivity and better time management for both us and our co-workers. It could also help avoid burning out by trying to do too much.
As a leader in the workplace, I can attest that boundaries are exceptionally important. They help me with time management and competing priorities while simultaneously giving me blocks of time to support those around me. (I have a great method that my business coach taught me many years ago that has stuck with me.) Remember when you say YES to something or someone you are also saying NO to something or someone.
Remember when you say YES to something or someone you are also saying NO to something or someone.
What do healthy boundaries look like at work?
Examples of boundaries at work may look like taking lunch alone or at least out of your office or with your door closed, saying no to work at night or on the weekends, and even scheduling time with the office door closed, silencing all notifications and distractions, or blocking out your schedule for focused work time.
One of the tips I have learned as part of a trend called “zero inbox” is actually scheduling when I will check, write, or respond to emails. This method may sound silly these days but email, while extremely important, has become a task. So, since we schedule other tasks, it is just as sensible to schedule email as a daily task.
In return, supporting a healthy team means respecting other peoples boundaries too, as noted above. Something I have adopted was a small blurb I spotted in someone’s email signature. I’ve adopted my own verbiage, but it basically states that while I may be sending you an email outside your working hours, it doesn’t mean you are obligated to respond or react when you are not working. Mine reads…
PLEASE NOTE: Receiving this email after hours does not obligate you to respond outside your normal work schedule.
This is just one way I try to respect other’s boundaries at work.
How can we communicate our boundaries?
For your boundaries to be helpful to you and those you work with, they should be communicated clearly and with a respectful amount of response time from your team. One of the reasons I encourage our staff to use the shared calendar is to help set up those boundaries. By placing time on the calendar when you are not working or unavailable it sets up your boundaries. Other ways can be to use the "out of office" notification on your email or your "do not disturb" status on your Teams or Slack Messenger.
For me I have blocks of "focus time" intentionally scheduled in my calendar where I don’t take teams messages, texts, emails, or phone calls so I can work solely on certain tasks without disruption. Because, when I say yes to responding to a text or talking on the phone, I am saying no to what I was focusing on first.
Because, when I say yes to responding to a text or talking on the phone, I am saying no to what I was focusing on first.
However, in turn, I also block time to only focus on messages, texts, emails, and calls. It's not that I am ignoring people but for me this is one example of a boundary that leads to valuable and efficient work getting done.
Whatever your method of setting boundaries, it is important that your co-workers understand that this is an important way to help yourself be more productive and assists in your support of helping your co-workers too.
This week, I motivate us to take some time evaluating where we could benefit from setting boundaries, both personally and professionally. Start with something little and create a habit.
Remember we cannot live out “love the action” at work without them.
What tips and tricks have you used to set your boundaries or protect the boundaries of others? Leave a comment!