Now What? Blog
The University of North Dakota Career Services blog is designed to provide career development information 24/7. Our goal is to engage students in answering their career and internship needs while also providing a forum for dialogue.
In addition to contributions from our career professionals we will also periodically add guest posts from students and select employers to give our readers multiple perspectives on issues that make a difference to career success.
*Our blog is an open forum for conversation and information sharing revolving around career topics and trends. We reserve the right to delete inappropriate content from our page.
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October 22, 2012
Workplace Boundaries/Downgrade Workplace Drama
With no realistic boundaries among coworkers, work tends to gradually descend into chaos. With no foundation of expectations (another name for boundaries) at work, people sometimes have no idea exactly how to interact with one another, or what is safe to/not discuss.
The individual boundaries of the people within work settings vary but, because boundaries are made by people they can shape the culture within a work environment. Expectations will be different even within the same company. However, within each company each worker is part of a greater work culture and has the potential to shape their own piece of work culture which directly effects them. Boundaries are the key but there is a learning curve to establishing, recognizing, and then shaping boundaries. Check it out:
1. Respect: Be polite when setting up boundaries with others. Realize that everyone's boundaries are going to get violated at some point, but how we and our coworkers react sets the tone for what happens the next time expectations get breached. That brings us to step two:
2. Be aware: Watch how coworkers react. People have a tendency to repeat themselves when they feel a boundary is being violated and may attribute less than kind motives that may or may not be accurate.
3. Be open to discussion: No matter how trivial or weird it may seem, if someone comes to you and asks for their boundaries to be respected, be open and receptive to their approach. While it may not always be possible to accommodate every little peccadillo, being at least open to dialogue about the issue is important. At times, a simple acknowledgement of the coworker's issue can be enough to put them at ease.
4. Be transparent about your expectations: News Flash: If a coworker doesn't know they have crossed the line, there is a good chance it will keep happening. Hopefully accidently, but if it is, or will eventually become a ginormous issue, then at least give the other person an opportunity to make amends.
5. Be firm but flexible: Stand your ground when setting boundaries but not to the point of escalating the issue into absurdity. There is a give and take to the process and if a coworker really freaks out when confronted, then it is probably time to reevaluate whether the issue is really worth dealing with. If it is: stand and deliver!
6. Be ready for resistance: Particularly the first time a boundary is breached and brought up, there will often be resistance to the idea. If you push on an issue, expect to feel some pushback. If the issue has continued for some time and hasn't been communicated previously (See step 3) and as a result, the breach has gone on for awhile, expect confusion on the part of the other person.
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