What are boundaries in the workplace?

Boundaries are the rules or guidelines you establish to regulate interactions with employees. They help create a positive work environment and maintain professionalism.

Here are some boundaries you may set with your team:

• Job scope: This establishes each employee’s tasks and each role’s authority. This helps define clear roles and responsibilities for each team member to avoid overlapping duties or confusion.
• Physical: You might ask employees to respect physical limitations that pertain to personal space.
• Communication: Setting company-wide communication expectations helps employees understand when and how to contact you and their colleagues, such as preferred communication channels and response time expectations.
• Meeting boundaries: Set clear rules for meetings, such as respecting time slots, ensuring agendas are provided in advance and encouraging participation.
• Work-life balance: You might set clear expectations about working hours, including any limits on after-hours communication or weekend work.

How do you set boundaries with employees?

Developing workplace boundaries may promote consistency and alignment with your company’s values. Consider following these steps:

1. Assess your needs and values

Consider reviewing your company values, mission statement, vision statement and other guiding documents to address focus areas where you want to set boundaries (e.g., communication, time, task ownership, feedback and work-life balance).

For example, if creating an inclusive workplace is a crucial part of your core values, you might set boundaries regarding religious observances by offering time off for certain holidays.

2. Identify challenges

Some boundaries with employees can help you identify specific challenges or areas of improvement. For example, you might create a boundary that requires manager approval in order for employees to work overtime to ensure fair timekeeping practices.

3. Clarify your needs and expectations

Reflecting on your personal expectations and the team’s needs may help you clarify the boundaries you want to enforce. For example, if employees request assistance with their workload, consider implementing company-wide processes that support employees and potentially improve work-life balance.

4. Create a specific limitation

Define boundaries by clearly establishing how you plan to implement them. For example, communication boundaries might specify that team members should use messaging channels to share important updates and set themselves as “Away” when not actively working. Define what language, comments and actions are acceptable for employees to use on messaging software.

5. Communicate your decisions

It’s important to communicate work boundaries. Some boundaries might pertain to the entire company. Others might only apply to certain team members. Be specific and clear with your expectations.

6. Model the behavior you expect

Set the tone by respecting boundaries yourself. For instance, if you’ve set a boundary about limiting weekend emails, ensure you’re not sending messages over the weekend unless it’s critical. Demonstrating respect for boundaries encourages employees to do the same.

Examples of workplace boundaries

Consider these examples of establishing boundaries at work:

• Sharing availability regularly for effective meeting scheduling that doesn’t interfere with important work or time off
• Requiring employees to take breaks to support morale
• Enforcing minimum time off requirements to encourage rest
• Making socialization activities optional
• Using “do not disturb” features to indicate focus time
• Waiting to respond to after-hours messages until the following business day
• Establishing clear expectations for response times (e.g., within 24 hours for emails)
• Allowing flexible scheduling for personal matters as long as work commitments are met
• Requesting employees to block off time for uninterrupted work

Related: How to Write an Employee Handbook (With Free Template Downloads)

Importance of setting boundaries with employees

Establishing boundaries can offer additional benefits, such as improvements to:

• Work-life balance: All employees should consider work-life balance to protect their mental health and work efficiently.
• Productivity: If employees feel their boundaries are respected, they may feel more comfortable and, therefore, become more productive at work.
• Expectations: Communicating boundaries can inform the team of your expectations and allow them to complete tasks while aligning with the appropriate procedures.
• Relationships: Setting and respecting expectations and boundaries can promote positive relationships with colleagues. It can also improve the work environment and employee satisfaction.
• Stress levels: Boundaries support consistent behaviors from your team members. When employees know what’s expected of them and how to respond in different situations, it can help them manage stress at work.
• Conflicts: Clear guidelines can reduce the risk of conflict related to job duties or how employees treat one another.

Frequently asked questions about establishing boundaries at work

How do you ensure employees respect your boundaries?

Remind employees of the guidelines when necessary. If the issue continues, you may meet with the individual privately to clarify your expectations. Consider providing examples of how they could respect your limitations to help them understand and improve.

How can you encourage your employees to set boundaries with one another?

Modeling clear boundaries with your employees shows them how to establish limitations in workplace interactions. You might encourage your team to consider their limits and express them to their colleagues. You might also schedule one-on-one meetings to check in and offer support and suggestions.

Can workplace boundaries change over time?

You may need to evaluate and change your boundaries over time. You might realize an original boundary is no longer as effective or important.

Additionally, changes to the company can impact priorities. As the company grows, you might adjust your communication methods and boundaries.