4.) "Work-Life Boundaries" for "Work-Life Balance"

 Art of Saying No: "Crafting Boundaries for a Work-Life Balance"

By Nirmala Rathnayake

Finding an optimal balance between obligations to one's professional obligations and one's personal well-being offers a difficult challenge in the quickly changing environment of our digitally connected world. The concept of "work-life boundaries" has gained prominence as individuals strive to find a harmonious blend of career success and personal well-being. 

This blog post explores; the significance of "work-life boundaries", and their benefits, and provides practical tips for establishing and maintaining them and balancing work-life.

When we lack healthy boundaries,  frequently give in to the demands and expectations of others at the expense of our own needs and desires. It also results in even worse control over boundaries because loses control over an individual's own work and results, which is not simply depressing. And it not only encourages people to push our boundaries further but also raises their expectations of, making readily available to them whenever they need us at any cost.

Researchers have explored the blurred boundaries between work and personal life for over a decade. Hall and Richter (1988) suggested that workers navigate these boundaries by fostering permeable boundaries to balance work and home lives. Nippert-Eng (1996) and Clark (2000) further developed boundary theory, which suggests that working adults develop boundaries around their work and personal life domains, which can influence work-family conflict outcomes. Understanding boundary management and its impact on worker outcomes is crucial for researchers and practitioners in occupational health and stress. Bulger, A. C., Matthews, A. R., & Hoffman, E. M (2007)  

1) Managing Multiple Roles and "Broader Concept"; 

People hold multiple important roles and the management of those roles has important outcomes. Research on the work/family interface has primarily focused on the negative impact of holding multiple roles, such as job satisfaction, life satisfaction, work withdrawal, and stress outcomes like depression. However, recent research has begun to investigate the positive impact of holding multiple roles. Role theories need to acknowledge that individuals actively organize themselves within their roles and that the construction of roles might explain the positive and negative outcomes of attempts to balance multiple roles. Bulger, A. C., Matthews, A. R., & Hoffman, E. M (2007)  

Nippert-Eng (1996) suggested that individuals create boundaries around their work and personal life in a deliberate fashion. She suggested that some individuals construct boundaries around work and personal life to ensure they remain separate, while others construct weak boundaries to facilitate interconnection or integration. These ideas were further developed by Clark (2000) and Ashforth et al. (2000).

Work-family border theory and boundary theory share key similarities, with work-family border theory suggesting that individuals are more enactive in defining work and family lives. Both theories suggest that the strength of the boundary can be characterized by permeability and flexibility, with permeability being the presence of elements from one domain in the other.

Boundary strength is a crucial element of work/personal life balance, as it allows individuals to adjust their boundaries to meet the demands of other domains. It is a function of flexibility-ability, flexibility-willingness, and permeability. Both border theory and boundary theory suggest that boundary strength is related to work/personal life balance. Bulger, A. C., Matthews, A. R., & Hoffman, E. M (2007).

In a broader concept, Work-life Balance focuses on the ways in which individuals establish and manage the boundaries between their work life and personal life. This explores how individuals navigate and negotiate these boundaries to achieve a sense of balance and harmony between their professional and personal responsibilities. 

Here are some key aspects related to work-life boundaries, and how it contributes to work-life balance:

Boundary Management: Work-life boundary theory acknowledges that individuals have different strategies for managing the boundaries between their work and personal lives. Some people may have rigid boundaries, keeping work and personal life entirely separate, while others may have more permeable boundaries, allowing for greater integration of work and personal activities.

Boundary Strategies: Individuals use various strategies to manage their boundaries effectively. These strategies may include setting clear time limits for work-related tasks, creating physical or psychological separation between work and personal spaces, and using technology mindfully to prevent work intrusion into personal time.

Boundary Violations: In some cases, work-related demands or personal commitments may lead to boundary violations. For example, excessive work hours, constant connectivity through technology, or unexpected personal emergencies can disrupt an individual's desired work-life balance.

Flexibility: Work-life boundary theory recognizes the importance of flexibility in managing these boundaries. Organizations that offer flexible work arrangements, such as remote work options or flexible hours, can empower employees to tailor their work-life balance to their unique needs.

Psychological Well-Being: Effective boundary management is associated with improved psychological well-being. When individuals can successfully establish and maintain boundaries, they are less likely to experience stress and burnout, leading to better overall work-life balance.

Organizational Support: Employers play a crucial role in supporting employees' efforts to manage their work-life boundaries. Organizations can create policies and a culture that respects employees' personal time and encourages a healthy work-life balance.

Individual Autonomy: Work-life boundary theory recognizes that individuals have varying levels of autonomy in setting and managing their boundaries. Those with more autonomy may have greater control over their work-life balance, while others may face external constraints that limit their options.

Furthermore, While the work-life broader concept doesn't represent a standalone HR theory, it provides a valuable framework for understanding how individuals navigate the boundaries between work and personal life. HR professionals can use these insights to develop policies, practices, and support mechanisms that promote work-life balance within their organizations. Ultimately, a well-managed work-life boundary contributes to employee well-being, job satisfaction, and organizational success.

2.) Why it is Important to set "Boundaries for Work-Life Balance"?

More research emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries for work-life balance according to the Harvard Business Review. (2022).  Setting boundaries is essential for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. However, finding time to change unhealthy behaviors and learn new habits can be challenging. In today's fast-paced world, people often seek shortcuts or productivity tools to keep up with the competition. Stress, anxiety, and insomnia have increased, leading to increased stress, caffeination, and miserableness. Establishing healthy boundaries can improve our well-being at work and home, allowing us to bring our best selves to both places. 

However, setting healthy boundaries can be triggering, as it forces us to examine toxic behaviors with roots in our past and can surface negative internal dialogues. For example, people with tendencies to be people-pleasers may struggle to set boundaries due to their need to constantly "give" to be worthy of others. Highly driven individuals may see boundaries as a personal failure or an attack on their ego, while those who haven't achieved much can use them to reinforce negative self-talk. Setting boundaries can help unlearned behaviors, regardless of their origins.

• What Not to Do?

Boundaries are about who we give power to and help us decide when, how, and if we give it away. Setting boundaries can be challenging when we expect others to give us what we need, but eventually, we may become tired of asking and giving up, succumbing to schedules, practices, or people who don't serve us, leading to growing resentment. Instead, we should take the initiative and set boundaries ourselves to achieve our desired outcomes.

• What to Do?

To overcome obstacles and re-empower ourselves, change our mindset about boundaries, understanding they limit our identify, and apply through action or communication. Protect our time and energy with small actions within our control.

• Label boundaries as hard or soft;

1. Hard boundaries (Non-Negotiables): Boundaries that you are unwilling to compromise on and need to act on immediately. Think of them as things you will never do or never accept as reasonable.

2. Soft boundaries (Aspirations): Boundaries that are more like wishes, and that you are willing to compromise on. Think of them as goals you want to reach but are flexible around.

It will be simpler to distinguish between your non-negotiables and goals once you begin to identify limits as "hard" and "soft." This will enable you to confidently make decisions that are in line with your fundamental needs and effectively manage your energy as you move closer to the desired outcome for work-life balance. Understand that boundaries are limits you identify for yourself and apply through action or communication. This doesn’t mean you get everything you want when you want it. It means there are small things within your control that you can do to protect your time and energy.

To start, take a step back and begin by labeling your boundaries as “hard” or “soft.”

• Determine your top priorities in work and in life balance;

To identify what you want to get out of your personal and professional life, use a visualization exercise to identify what you can't live without and what you wish for. Imagine a scenario where your life is no longer possible, such as being laid off, living in a different town, or changing careers. What would you miss or not miss? What would you choose to prioritize, and what would you not miss? This will reveal your high-level priorities and lower-level aspirations, which may be hidden beneath the safety net of your current situation.

•  Test out one hard boundary;

A "cutback experiment" is an exercise that involves setting hard boundaries to protect high-level priorities. This involves limiting tasks, interactions, or activities that are not the best use of your time. By being more selective about what and who you give your energy to, you can focus on the items that give you the greatest return on your investment, such as greater achievement at work or more happiness at home. 

For example, if your high-level priority is to protect your energy at work, you can set hard boundaries by saying "no" to unnecessary meetings and replacing them with rest time. In personal life, you can also consider draining relationships and activities and drop them in favor of fulfilling relationships. When conducting this exercise with clients, it's important to ask yourself if it's selfish to focus on what you want. After setting these boundaries, ask yourself if you feel more productive at work or refreshed in your role as a partner, friend, or parent.

• Practice a few soft boundaries;

Consider your aspirations and set soft boundaries to improve productivity and creativity. Consider reducing caffeine consumption, limiting social media usage, and limiting email answering. Test these boundaries to see how they impact your overall well-being. Remember that both hard and soft boundaries offer flexibility, so experiment with them to see how they impact your overall well-being.

• Commitment;

Test ways to protect time, energy, and well-being. Learn from experiences and set strong boundaries for strong returns. Commit to these for at least one quarter, focusing on both head and heart, qualitative and quantitative. Ask these questions to measure the progress and learn within;

• What benefits have I seen from enforcing my boundaries?

• What unfavorable effects resulted from a boundary?

• How do I feel right now compared to when I first started this border experiment?

• What must I do or modify if I'm to stay on course and deal with the problem?

• Which restrictions (hard boundaries) and which aspirational restrictions (soft boundaries) do I want to adhere to?

In this process of experimenting with strong and soft boundaries is flexible, aiming to develop an awareness of true desires and avoid accepting societal expectations. The review also highlighted not to restrict these restrictions, this stepping back and assessing desires allows us to design the desired life.

3.) Work-Life Boundaries in Sri Lanka

When considering the global and general context, it's important to examine how work-life-related boundaries manifest within the unique framework of Sri Lanka.

The Sunday Times Article emphasizes the importance of focusing on work-life boundaries in Sri Lanka, emphasizing individual responsibility and addressing stress. It discusses scenarios from coaching conversations and highlights the need to prioritize work and marriage over other priorities. Personality influences work-life balance, with factors like ambition, power, emotional control, and resilience influencing it. Work culture, relationships, and organizational support moderate work-life boundaries. Life and growth are sustained through work-life balance, which is dynamic and changes as factors change. Work domain factors, such as work demands, working hours, and flexibility, affect balance, while family domain factors include financial stress, responsibility for dependents, and support from family and extended family. Work-life balance is a complex concept influenced by factors like age, life stage, purpose, and long-term goals. In general, Prioritizing work and family is crucial for achieving success in all areas of life but setting boundaries will be a great support for balancing work and life. Rozaine (2015)

Conclusion;

Balancing work and personal life has become a difficult challenge in today's fast-paced society. For the sake of protecting well-being and seeking professional achievement, work-life limits are crucial. These limitations enable people to prioritize their non-negotiables and objectives while taking charge of their time and energy. People can alter their behaviors and responses by adopting a mentality that sees boundaries as self-empowering tools, which helps to promote well-being. Setting and maintaining boundaries, however, can be difficult because of ingrained habits, cultural obstacles, and internal debates. Research on the work/family interface has primarily focused on the negative impact of holding multiple roles, such as job satisfaction, life satisfaction, work withdrawal, and stress outcomes like depression. However, recent research has begun to investigate the positive impact of holding multiple roles. Role theories need to acknowledge that individuals actively organize themselves within their roles and that the construction of roles might explain the positive and negative outcomes of attempts to balance multiple roles. 

In order to have a deeper understanding of one's true aspirations and requirements, it is beneficial to experiment with various boundaries. The universal relevance of work-life boundaries and their effects on different facets of life is highlighted by the global perspective on these limits. Furthermore, by overcoming obstacles and experimenting with new things, attempting new boundaries, and prioritizing self-awareness, a person can live a life that is consistent with their principles, fosters growth, and offers a balance between their personal and professional lives.

Reference;

1.) Bulger, C. A., Matthews, R. A., & Hoffman, M. E. (2007). Work and personal life boundary management boundary strength work personal life balance and the segmentation integration continuum. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12(4), pp.365–375. 

Accessed on 09 August 2023

2.) Sanok, J. (2022). A Guide to Setting Better Boundaries. Harvard Business Review. [online] 

Accessed on 09 August 2023

3.) Ozimek, A. (2021). When work goes remote. SSRN. [online] 

Accessed on 10 August 2023

4.) Rozaine. (2015). Work life boundaries in sri lanka. The Sunday Times [online]

Accessed on 10 August 2023

5.) Leduc, C., Houlfort, N., & Bourdeau, S. (2016). Work-life balance the good and the bad of boundary management. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 8(1), pp.133-146.

6.) Adisa., Ajibade, T., Antonacopoulou, E., Beauregard, A. T., Dickmann, M., & Adekoya, D. O. (2022). Exploring the impact of COVID‐19 on employees boundary management and work life balance. British Journal of Management 33, no. 4 (2022). pp.1694-1709.

7.) Ezzedeen, S.R., & Zikic, J. (2017). Finding balance amid boundarylessness an interpretive study of entrepreneurial work life balance and boundary management. Journal of Family Issues, 38(11), pp.1546-1576.