Burnout coach shares tips people can use to set boundaries at work without causing conflict

It is easy to lose sight of one's own well-being in a work setup. People become so intimately attached to their work that they unknowingly blur the line between personal and professional lives. For many, this leads to burnout and mental fatigue. To live a healthy life, individuals must approach their work with balance. They should have boundaries at their job to ensure they are not giving too much of themselves. Burnout coach Elissa Lynn–who goes by @elissalynn on TikTok–shares certain practices that people can adopt to ensure that no one overworks and exploits them during their professional commitments. The boundaries she mentioned in the video can be put in place without any conversation, reducing the possibility of confrontations.

The first one Lynn puts on the table is, "Don't apologize for not responding quick enough." By apologizing, employees imply that they have done something wrong. It will make the person on the other side think that the employee's go-to is to work quickly. From then on, that is what they are going to expect and in to follow through with these hopes, employees will be forced to move through work as quickly as possible. One of the key things that employees need to focus on in the workplace is managing expectations. For the next one, she actually asks employees not to "immediately respond." 

The third one is to "block out focus times on your calendar." In the professional environment, it is easy to go with the flow and take up more work than possible and these focus times ensure that people stay on the right track. During these periods, employees need to focus on their objectives and well-being. It is followed up by "put do not disturb when you are not working." It indicates that the individual is not available to take up extra load when they are taking a break or have finished up with their job. The fifth one is - "Do not volunteer yourself for more work." Sometimes, individuals screw themselves over in a bid to impress others and take up more work. The last one on the list is a work-management tip, "Schedule specific times to look at your emails."

Finding a balance at work is necessary. Not only will it help an individual in their personal life, but it will also help them to enjoy the career they love more. In one of her videos, the coach shared how she used to work in a career, she really enjoyed and later began to resent because she felt burnt out. It happened due to her own toxic practices in the work, leading her to that outcome. She wrote, "No one was forcing me to skip the gym, think about work at 3 am and emotionally binge eat. It wasn't a requirement to people please at work and go home to irrationally snap at people I love." Her fault was that she did not understand from the get-go that employees and bosses are not on the same team. It was on her to get that balance, which allowed her peace on both fronts. Her boundaries "allowed me to work smarter, set my limits without guilt, shut off when I was of..."

Commenters found her suggestion helpful. @al46382 shared one of their practices and wrote, "I even set my out-of-office daily, so people know my working hours and not to schedule meetings during my off times." @sherleyspeaks put forward another suggestion and commented, "Also, never answer phone calls or messages during your scheduled lunch break!!!"

You can follow Elissa Lynn (@elissalynn_) on TikTok for more such content on work burnout.