“I can’t handle everything, I’m overwhelmed with work.” I don’t know how many times I’ve thought about this question at work, or heard it from co-workers. We might think the easiest solution is to say, talk to our boss and try to explain that the situation we’re in is over-tasked. But easy, at least for me, is nothing.
Setting limits is a way of defining acceptable roles and behaviors in a work team, encouraging an appropriate atmosphere to work in. So to speak, what we allow and what we don’t allow to happen in order for our physical and mental health to remain safe in the work environment, the key is to do it with confidence.
communicate confidently Setting limits in a work environment is my unresolved subject. I am not alone. This is also the case for many others. That’s why we turned to the experts, Dr Estrela Flores-Carreteropsychologist, author and businesswoman, give us some Tips for Confidently Setting Limits at Work.
How to set boundaries at work
Manuel J. Smith explains in his book I feel guilty when I say no“, “Communication is the glue that holds people together as a relationship develops, and through enhanced communication leads to mutual support, advice, productivity, interest and satisfaction. “
I feel guilty when I say no (key)
As the psychologist tells us in his book, both sides of this communication must be assertive. He points out a few things we have to be clear about before moving on:”Assertive behavior goes beyond asking others to respect our rights or preventing others from manipulating us. Self-confidence involves communicating to others who we are, what we do, what we want and what we expect from life. “
The first thing we need to remember is that when set limits, what we do is use respectful communication to clearly define what is or isn’t acceptable in a relationship (whatever that is). For example, Working only for the duration of the day is a limitation of the job.
Restrictions at work are necessary not only for the work environment itself, but also for our personal lives.according to American Psychological Association60% of employees cite a lack of balance between work and personal life as their main source of stress.we want stress in our lives.
determine your limits
Before communicating anything, You need to assess your limits, keep them in mind and be able to communicate them properly. Maybe overtime is not a problem for you. For example, maybe what you really need is that they not write Whatsapp to your personal phone.
This, Flores-Carretero assures, is the way to identify your “non-negotiables,” those constraints you’re not willing to give up.
Know Your Job Responsibilities
Once you have identified your limits, the next thing to do is Learn about our job functions. Let me give you an example, you work for a communications agency and your job is to write press releases. If your boss asks you to take his suit to the dry cleaner, it’s clearly not part of your duties.
Experts say, “This strategy is decisive for setting work limits and dealing with abuse of power. Some superiors tend to assign more tasks than subordinates’ responsibilities, thus affecting subordinates’ effectiveness.”
To express what our true function is is to limit what you can or cannot do. With “I’m sorry, but this is not in my area of competence, and if I do this, I will not be able to achieve what I was hired to do,” we can resolve the issue decisively.
Prioritize day-to-day tasks
Not only does this advice help us set limits, it also helps us prevent stress from leading us forward. At the start of the day, identify what you have to do and order them by importance, do the most urgent thing before. And make it clear: We will do our best. If it is not done today, it will be done tomorrow.
While experts say less urgent tasks can be postponed, she also recommends setting dates and times for their completion and so we avoid procrastination.
Make your schedule crystal clear
Define schedules and actually adjust them to our daily lifeespecially if we work remotely Or we work for our own benefit, which is vital so that the day doesn’t last forever.return work breakmany times we forget them.
Making a schedule is a way to impose constraints on work without even needing to justify it. For example, if we only respond to emails by 6pm (including a disclaimer stating that customer service will take place from 10am to 6pm), then whoever writes to us will know that is our schedule.
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