“As companies embrace flexibility, they also need to set clear boundaries”
The 2021 Women in the Workplace report summarizes this key recommendation so clearly. Pre-pandemic, boundaries were important, but to an extent some of them were ‘built in’ to our daily lives—the commute to the office, closing up the computer at the end of the workday, a peek at email on your phone but a response saved for tomorrow.
With all of the changes COVID-19 has brought, burnout is one that we have talked about extensively in the past two years. As we face yet another period of transition (back to the office, no wait—back to remote) it is a critical time to revisit the boundaries that organizations can set to create a sustainable flexible workforce that can readily adapt to the seemingly endless change and uncertainty.
https://womenintheworkplace.com/
In addition to the many findings we explored in a past post, the Women in the Workplace report makes recommendations for organizations—and managers specifically—to support employees and retreat from the idea that “flexible” is synonymous with “always on.” This is one of the most significant contributing factors to burnout.
Model Work / Life Boundaries. As organizations are encouraged to set formal boundaries for managing time (ex. Not responding to non-urgent requests outside of traditional work hours, blocking personal time on calendars), managers must respect and reinforce these practices. Managers can both set expectations for their teams and provide coaching to those who are struggling to adhere to those practices—whether it is out of obligation or personal working style.
Ensure Performance is Evaluated Based on Results. When it comes to really reinforcing the expectations around boundaries, performance evaluations are the critical opportunity to judge performance and efficiency based on results and output vs. long hours or “presenteeism” for organizations that have embraced a hybrid workplace. A results-focused approach should be part of the bigger picture for individual career paths as well as day-to-day communication that reinforces the stated priorities vs. an unspoken weight on face time, constant collaboration and immediate response.
Supporting Employee Well-Being. We’re approaching the two-year mark of the pandemic and many are struggling with the feeling that we’re right back where we started. (A recent headline during the Omicron surge reads, “Omicron Means Parents Are Doing It All Again, Except This Time Dead Inside.”) For managers to be truly effective in checking in and supporting their direct reports, consider “prompting employees to rate their level of stress and exhaustion on a one-to-ten scale, as opposed to generally asking them how they’re doing.” This approach, paired with manager modeling of honesty will provide more room for employees to bring their full self to work and to the conversation.
Beyond companies implementing and encouraging boundaries, we know that lasting change often starts with individuals—first advocating for themselves, then for others. In our refreshed workshop, Setting Intention and Boundaries in Transition, we focus on pairing flexible work practices with boundaries and intention to establish new ways of working. This program provides an awareness and framework for managing transition and creating a sustainable approach to any working environment.