Communication Strategies – Are Your Work Boundaries Intact?
- Many of us spend the majority of our days at work. Often, work issues can bleed into our home life.
- You’ve probably heard the phrase – ‘work-life balance’ – but how do you create a healthy balance for your personal and work life, when you have challenges at work?
- Creating boundaries around your workplace is critical for a healthy work life and, therefore, also a healthy personal life. After all, they are intertwined!
- When you respect your own personal boundaries, others typically will, as well. Although, it may take a while for others to be “trained” to recognize your new boundaries, overall it will be well worth it!
- And having healthy boundaries also helps others to become more self-reliant, which promotes their self growth.
Here are 4 tips to create (and keep!) healthy boundaries:
- Communicate clearly. Set boundaries in your work relationships. Lay out your limits clearly.
- For instance, if you don’t want your colleagues and clients to contact you after hours, tell them (nicely 🙂 the hours you will be available for work-related conversations. **
- Then, make sure you don’t answer calls or texts, or send texts or emails outside of hours so others know you are serious.
- If you’re working on a project and can’t be interrupted, place your phone on ‘do not disturb’, close your office door, or put a friendly ‘do not disturb’ sign on your desk.
Generally, clear communication can improve your work-life balance, and decrease stress at work and in your personal life.
- Learn about various communication styles – including your own: There are numerous ways people give and receive communication – some speak slowly, some speak quickly, some interrupt, some pause often, and some go off on tangents, which can partly be due to being distracted and losing track of the conversation focus.
- Understanding your own communication style can help you recognize other people’s communication style.
- Heightened understanding of communication styles can make you a more powerful and influential communicator. It can also help you better diffuse conflict and improve relationships, both at work and in your personal life.
You can identify your own communication style, gain insight about others, and enhance your communication effectiveness by taking the Myers-Briggs assessment. https://flcc.wpengine.com/career-personality-ability-tests/#tab-id-4
- Set boundaries at home: Being ‘present’ while at home can be challenging but it’s very important to ‘keep work at work’ as much as possible when you’re at home.
- One approach that can help you tune in more at home is to check email before dinner, and then put away your devices so you can spend the rest of the evening with your family or friends.
- Remember, work will always be there!
- ADD/ADHD: ADD (attention deficit disorder/ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) can make achieving work-life balance even more challenging when you feel like life is a struggle.
- For employees with ADHD and their spouses, who often carry a larger portion of work at home, work-life balance may seem elusive. Once you understand the impact of your ADHD you can take positive action steps to improve your work-life balance.
- If you or someone you know struggles with work/life balance including those with ADD or ADHD and may need some guidance with the direction of their life, both personal and professional, contact Marilyn. Marilyn will work collaboratively with you, at your own pace.
**Please note in some organizations, the expectation is to be available practically 24/7. If implementing the suggestions in this blog can jeopardize your job, we’re not suggesting you do so. However, if being available to communicate 24/7 is creating intolerable stress, you may want to explore other jobs/careers where this expectation is not present.
TO SCHEDULE A COMPLIMENTARY 10-MINUTE INTRODUCTORY CALL OR YOUR FULL 45-MINUTE CONSULTATION IN-PERSON OR VIRTUALLY, PLEASE EMAIL MARILYN AT: MARILYN@FETTNERCAREERCONSULTING.COM