While boundaries can be perceived as strict rules that limit and regulate, they are actually crucial to a healthy work-life balance. Boundaries outline how much of your time, mental energy, etc. you give to your career, and how much you give to yourself. Healthy boundaries at work can make the difference between professional success and fulfillment or burn out, especially in the healthcare field. Boundaries are the limits you establish in between your career and your life that protect you from being used, participating in toxic environments, over-committing, or behaving in ways that negatively impact your mental health.
To achieve a healthy work-life balance, boundaries must be identified. The five types of work-life boundaries you can set are as follows:
Emotional → Example: Not allowing negative interactions define your self-worth or affect your performance.
Physical → Example: Taking time to rest and recover after strenuous shifts.
Intellectual → Example: Avoiding toxic conversations that impact your attitude negatively.
Time-related → Example: Honoring commitments outside of and unrelated to work.
According to a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, setting and having control over our boundaries helps combat the stress often caused by work-life balance issues. Defining and setting healthy boundaries is key to fulfillment, productivity, and autonomy in your career. This can be achieved by:
Regularly assessing your mental health to identify and areas of your career that need boundaries
Setting and sticking to healthy boundaries that define when you give time to work and when you do not
Adhering to ethical codes of conduct that protect not just patients, but caregivers as well
Not getting discouraged by pushback from people who are upset by the healthy boundaries you’ve set
Communicating boundaries clearly and firmly
Research done by Ellen Ernst Kossek of Purdue University outlines that “effectively managing work-life boundaries can reduce role conflict and enhance the well-being of employees, teams, and organizations.” Boundaries are beneficial because:
They prevent burnout and compassion fatigue
They protect the integrity of the nurse-patient relationship
They help staff members feel more connected to each other
They reduce conflict and misunderstandings
They increase productivity and effectiveness
They contribute towards self-care
They facilitate positive mental health
As a healthcare worker, boundaries benefit yourself, your colleagues, and your patients. They help you achieve a healthy work-life balance and contribute towards more positive mental health. Through identifying, defining, and setting work-life boundaries, medical professionals can enjoy a career AND home-life they love.
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