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I was off to my first real job out of college as an Engineer at Procter & Gamble.
I felt like I had a lot to prove. And a lot to learn.
P&G was a great company and hired really smart people.
A great environment to learn in… but also really competitive.
But my mom sent me off with some advice.
“Don’t bring your work home.”
She didn’t work once she had kids… but she saw how my dad did. He worked long hours and consistently worked after eating dinner with us.
And it took a toll on his health.
And so I made it a rule not to. Which was easy in the beginning as I was just getting started.
But soon it required me to decline meetings that went past 5:30pm.
I replied to emails the next day, if they weren’t sent while I was at work.
I felt the pressure to conform to how others worked. Did I mention it was competitive?
I’ll also admit to feeling a bit guilty sometimes too.
I mean, it was only me and my dog. Some others who “worked harder” (e.g. longer hours, sent emails late at night, etc) had kids!
But I stuck to it. I didn’t bring work home.
It was only later that I realized it my first test in creating work boundaries.
I built strength to not only draw the line… but importantly to keep it.
This helped me build this key skill required to be not only productive… but also healthy & able to balance life priorities.
"A lack of boundaries invites a lack of respect."
The holidays is an important time to set (and keep) work boundaries.
This is a reminder that:
- No, you shouldn’t have to put work over your health and family.
- No, you don’t have to respond to that midnight work email right away.
- No, you don’t have to do it just because you were asked.
And also that…
- Yes, saying No is ok.
- Yes, share your point of view, it matters, you matter.
- Yes, communicating your priorities sets expectations.
Reinforcing boundaries when they are crossed is how you get to keep them.
Otherwise they aren’t really boundaries, they’re a line easily erased in the sand.
What boundary are you setting this holiday season?
“A lack of boundaries invites a lack of respect.”
– Anonymous
