Almost all of us are struggling with the new landscape of our jobs right now. And in this sudden reality of working from home, it can be a challenge to set healthy work boundaries. Without the separation between home and office, you might be finding yourself working longer hours or feeling like you’re constantly on call. Tune in to learn how to establish healthy work boundaries and avoid letting “quarantine work creep” take over your life.
Biggest Takeaways From Episode #105:
- Get started in managing quarantine work creep by figuring your employer’s expectations of you in terms of availability, communication, and job description. If you’re not sure or anything is unclear, ask!
- We train other people how to treat us. If your behavior is at odds with what you say about your availability, you’re demonstrating that you are available even during times you said you weren’t.
- If you’re working on something and really want to finish it, there are some specific steps you can take to make sure your extra work isn’t taken for granted. But don’t expect to get paid extra for your own choice to work more if that isn’t part of your work agreement.
Highlights from Episode #105:
- Vicki welcomes listeners to this episode, and talks about her upcoming free live virtual event for women. She then begins exploring today’s topic: quarantine work creep. [00:39]
- You can set boundaries at work even if you’ve been at your job for a while and didn’t start off perfectly, Vicki explains. She then talks about where to start. [06:29]
- Vicki points out that for everything that isn’t explicitly stated to you as an expectation, you have a lot of freedom. [14:35]
- If you’re working remotely, Vicki highly recommends that you have a separate business phone number and business address. [19:50]
- Vicki invites listeners to ask themselves a hard question: “What was it that I wanted in that situation?” [25:51]
- What if you’re working on something and are really excited to finish it? [27:53]
- Vicki talks about the best ways to have difficult conversations, and explores the reason why a lot of us have Zoom fatigue. [32:51]
- Do you have tips or suggestions around managing quarantine work creep? If so, head to the Beyond Bitchy website and share your ideas as comments on this episode. [35:15]
Links and Resources:
I love the podcasts and am learning so much! Thank you! As an HR Professional, I wanted to comment on today’s post that employers have some built in boundaries as far as workers answering emails or working weekends, etc. IF those employees are non-exempt, hourly workers, ANY work they do in a regular workweek is to be PAID. If they work 40 hours in a week, and then answer emails from the boss on the weekend, that time is considered worked and then must be PAID as OVERTIME. This is not the same as salaried, exempt workers, who receive a set amount of pay regardless of hours worked.
Thanks Kathy, great info!