workplace mental health border design

A psychological boundary protection system that is proactively built by individuals and can be dynamically adjusted. The core principle is "the bottom line rules are not loose, the flexible space is interchangeable, and the boundary perception is clear." It neither advocates a "hard isolation" from the workplace environment, nor encourages "soft flattery" that compromises without a bottom line. The ultimate goal is to achieve career goals while minimizing psychological internal friction and avoiding professional burnout.

Data from an authoritative workplace research organization last year showed that 68.2% of the interviewed workplace people ranked "interrupted by work messages during non-working hours" as the first source of emotional stress in the workplace. The post-95s operation Xiao Zhou I met during an EAP interview at an Internet company last week is a typical example: she was afraid that she would be slow to reply to messages. She left a bad impression on her boss. Even if it was irrelevant industry information sent by her boss at two o'clock in the morning, she would get up and reply with "Copy that, I'll study hard." She was diagnosed with thyroid nodules just one year after joining the job. She often woke up in the middle of the night and subconsciously checked her phone to see if there was any new news. Her whole state was about to collapse.

There are actually two completely different voices in the industry regarding the setting of psychological boundaries in the workplace. Many workplace bloggers refer to the "hard boundary school", which advocates turning off the work computer immediately after get off work, not replying to messages during non-working hours, directly rejecting work that is not yours, and using "none of your business" and "none of my business" as their mottos in life.； There are also many corporate human resources practitioners who are on the "soft side". They feel that the workplace is about humaneness and sophistication. Too hard boundaries can easily offend people, which is not conducive to long-term development. They advocate flexible adjustments, more tolerance and more dedication.

I have been doing enterprise EAP consulting for 6 years, and I have seen too many examples of people who have gone to extremes and suffered losses. In fact, both of these statements are correct, but they are not adapted to specific scenarios and individual needs. There used to be a boy who was doing back-end development. He really strictly enforced hard boundaries and shut down his computer immediately after get off work. An emergency bug appeared before the last project was launched. The entire project team searched for him for two hours but couldn't find it. Finally, he temporarily found other colleagues who stayed up late to put out the fire. When he was promoted at the end of the year, he was not given a full vote. He still felt that the company was deliberately targeting him. There was also a female administrative supervisor who took a completely flexible route and took on any job. She even had to do personal things like picking up the children and feeding the cats when her colleagues asked her to do so. In the end, no one mentioned her name during the evaluation at the end of the year. Everyone felt that she was doing these things as she should.

In fact, the so-called border design is essentially more like a firewall installed on your computer - it does not mean to directly cut off the Internet and cut off all communication, but to set the rules in advance so that normal work requests can pass smoothly, and requests for malicious blame-shifting and excessive consumption are directly blocked. First of all, you have to find out what your own psychological red line is. There is no unified standard for this. Some people just can't accept staying up late for three consecutive days, and some just can't accept being frequently interrupted to deal with personal matters during work hours. You have to understand for yourself first, what things will make you feel stuck for three days if you tolerate it, and what things are okay to help out occasionally. I have met a sales director in the fast-moving consumer goods industry before. The rule he set for himself is that as long as it is not an urgent matter involving the loss of tens of millions of orders, he will never answer work calls on weekends. At first, his subordinates were not used to it. Someone even went to the boss to file a lawsuit against him, saying that he was irresponsible. He did not change it, but every time he opened the phone, During the meeting, I made it clear to everyone: "I will accompany my son who has just entered elementary school to participate in outdoor classes on weekends. I usually put my mobile phone in my bag. If there is an emergency, you can call my wife directly and she will call me. If it is not an emergency, wait until work on Monday. Don't push it forward if you can solve it yourself. I believe in your ability." ”Gradually, everyone got used to his rules, and there were fewer troubles on weekends. His subordinates' ability to solve problems independently improved a lot. His own condition improved, and last year's performance increased by 30% compared to the year before.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that if you set the rules, they will remain unchanged. The frame is inherently adjustable, just like the brightness of your mobile phone. You can make it brighter in bright sunlight and darker in dark places. You don’t have to turn on the highest brightness all the time, which consumes power, and you don’t have to turn on the lowest brightness all the time to see clearly. For example, during the two weeks when the project is launched and the big promotion is held, it is okay for you to take the initiative to widen the borders and work more overtime to take on more tasks. However, after this period of work, you have to take the initiative to take back the borders. Many people fail to set boundaries. In fact, it’s not that there’s a problem with the boundaries themselves. It’s that they’re too blunt or too embarrassed when conveying boundaries. You can tell your colleagues stiffly, “I don’t read work messages after work,” while you can say with a smile, “I have to take online classes with my kids after get off work, so the messages may not be visible. If you have an emergency, please call me.” The effect is completely different. People are more likely to accept the latter, and they won’t think you are deliberately passing the blame.

Some people may also say that I am just a junior employee who has just joined the company, so how can I set any boundaries? I have to do whatever my boss asks me to do. In fact, borders are never just a form of slapping the table with the boss. Grassroots employees also have their own small borders that can be set up. For example, when a colleague asks you to help with chores, you can point to the to-do list on the computer and say, "I need to complete these three entry procedures today, otherwise the new colleague will not be able to work tomorrow. If you are not in a hurry, can I help you get it tomorrow?" ”This is to convey your boundaries. Take your time. Everyone knows that you are not a soft persimmon who can accept any job, so they will not consume you casually. I once met a young girl who just graduated and worked in human resources. At first, everyone in the department asked her to help with express delivery and ordering milk tea. She used this method to gradually push away chores that were not hers. Not only is her work efficiency now high, she also found time to take the human resources management exam. This year she has been promoted to human resources manager.

Of course, not everyone is suitable for this method. For example, if you are in the critical period of promotion and want to perform more and earn more achievements, then it is perfectly fine to temporarily relax the boundaries. As long as you know that this is a short-term choice and it is not something you want to do forever. The biggest fear is that you are obviously unhappy but dare not say it and keep holding it in. In the end, you will either have a big quarrel with your colleagues or become ill, and the gain will not be worth the loss.

In the final analysis, the mental health boundary in the workplace is never a rule set for others. It is an "airbag" you install for your own psychology. When you really encounter a collision, it can help you cushion it and avoid directly damaging your roots. After all, the workplace is a long-distance race, not a 100-meter sprint. Only by conserving your strength can you reach the end.