How to Leave Your Work at Work
The lines between being at work and not at work have been blurring for quite some time. Many jobs traditionally happened between 9 in the morning and 5 in the evening on weekdays. This was also known as ‘banker’s hours.
However, the concept started shifting over several decades. In a fast-paced world that was increasingly turning into a 24/7 place, the concept of conventional work hours started shifting.
The advent of the digital age and everything is connected online expedited things. Emails could mean around-the-clock communication, and text messaging and smartphones took it to a whole new level.
The global pandemic may have destroyed work-life boundaries in seeming permanent fashion for many, especially as millions of workers switched to remote work from home. No longer commuting to physically separate their time at work from their time at the kitchen table, their kitchen table might be their office.
Many are finding it hard to switch their minds off of their work, so it’s crucial to know how to leave work actually at work.
The first thing you should do is block out your calendar into two different categories. The first would be work hours, and the second would be personal hours. Your designated work hours might not be just the hours you show up for work or sit down at your computer. They might include other hours where you allow yourself to think about work or be available for communication from bosses and coworkers. On the other hand, personal hours would be where you focus on your own private life and don’t deal with work. These are the hours where your brain can clock out, so to speak.
Whenever possible, do your work while you’re at work. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of handling some personal stuff while at work because you’re in the mood to be productive, and sometimes doing work stuff in what should be personal time seems like it helps manage your professional workload. This just blurs the lines between work and private life, though.
Finally, try to make coworkers aware of your boundaries. Let your voicemail greeting or email autoresponder point out that you return messages after a certain time and that you’re not usually available during particular hours.
