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The Space Between Us: Boundaries for Healthier Working Relationships

Why healthy working boundaries are important  

I n the demanding environments of health and social care, establishing clear professional boundaries is not just good practice, it's essential. Professional boundaries are the invisible lines that define appropriate interactions and expectations between ourselves and our colleagues. These boundaries are crucial for maintaining our personal wellbeing, fostering a highly effective team, and ensuring safe and respectful working relationships for everyone involved. They are a cornerstone of a healthy and sustainable professional life.  

What are professional boundaries?  

Professional boundaries define the limits of appropriate behaviour and relationships in the workplace. They help distinguish professional conduct from personal involvement, ensuring mutual respect and a safe environment for all. These boundaries are essential for maintaining clarity, consistency, and fairness in professional interactions, and they often include physical, emotional, and psychological limits  

Healthy professional boundaries are fundamental for:  

  • Your Personal Wellbeing : Reducing stress, preventing burnout, and improving work-life balance.  

  • Team Effectiveness:  Fostering trust, clarity, and efficient collaboration.  

  • Safe & Respectful Relationships:  Ensuring an environment where everyone feels valued and respected.  

The Evidence: Why This Matters  

  • Workplace Stress:  Work-related stress, depression, and anxiety account for 17.1 million working days lost annually in the UK. (Health and Safety Executive, 2024)  

  • Unpaid Overtime:  Many health and social care professionals routinely work unpaid extra hours, leading to burnout. (NHS Staff Survey / Community Care analysis)  

  • Skipped Breaks:  More than half of NHS staff report being unable to take regular breaks, impacting their wellbeing and focus. (UNISON survey, 2022)  

  • Increased Productivity: Research shows taking regular breaks reduces fatigue and improves focus and decision-making. (Sonnentag & Fritz, 2015)

Understanding the Types of Professional Boundaries  

Boundaries help define appropriate interactions . With colleagues, they typically fall into these categories:  

  • Emotional Boundaries:  Managing how much you engage with, or take on, a colleague's personal emotions or issues.  

  • Time & Availability Boundaries:  Protecting your personal time, breaks, and non-working hours from work demands.  

  • Information & Confidentiality Boundaries:  Controlling what personal information you share and respecting the privacy of others.  

  • Role & Responsibility Boundaries:  Keeping clear about your job tasks and not taking on work that belongs to a colleague.  

  • Physical & Personal Space Boundaries:  Respecting personal space, appropriate physical contact, and individual workspaces.  

  • Relationship Boundaries:  Managing expectations when professional relationships also involve personal friendships, ensuring professionalism remains .  

Common Challenges & Early Warning Signs    

In health and social care, common inter-colleague boundary challenges include:  

  • Excessive emotional offloading or 'venting' during work hours.  

  • Constant work-related messages outside of contracted hours.  

  • Gossip or sharing inappropriate confidential information.  

  • Colleagues delegating their tasks to you inappropriately.  

  • Blurred lines between work friendships and professional responsibilities.  

Early Warning Signs that a boundary is being crossed can include:  

  • Feeling drained, resentful, or anxious after interactions with a colleague.  

  • Finding yourself covering up for a colleague's mistakes.  

  • Experiencing pressure to engage in gossip or take sides.  

  • Dreading certain interactions or times of day (e.g., coffee breaks).  

  • Your personal time constantly being encroached upon by work messages or calls from colleagues.   

Top Tips for Setting & Maintaining Good Professional Boundaries  

Establishing and upholding clear boundaries with colleagues is fundamental to your wellbeing, team effectiveness, and a respectful work environment.  

  1. Know Your Limits:  

  • Note: Understand your personal and professional capacity . What makes you feel overwhelmed or resentful?  

  • Example: You realise you feel drained when a colleague constantly uses your break to complain about others. Your limit is needing your breaks to disconnect.  

  1. Communicate Clearly and Proactively:  

  • Note: Set expectations before issues arise. Use "I" statements to express your needs directly but politely.  

  • Example: "I typically don't check work messages after 5 PM, but I'll get back to you first thing tomorrow."  

  1. Be Consistent:  

  • Note: If you set a boundary, stick to it. Inconsistency sends mixed signals and makes it harder for colleagues to respect your limits.  

  • Example: If you've established you don't take work calls on your day off, consistently don't answer them unless it's a genuine, pre-agreed emergency.  

  1. Protect Your Time and Space:  

  • Note: Actively create separation between work and personal life. Manage your availability and workspace.  

  • Example: Silence work notifications on your personal phone outside of working hours, or use headphones to signal focus time.  

  1. Address Boundary Crossings Early:  

  • Note: Small infractions can escalate. Address issues calmly and privately, focusing on the behaviour and its impact, not the person.  

  • Example: "When you ask me about X, I feel uncomfortable as it's confidential. I need to keep professional information private."  

  1. Seek Support if Needed:  

  • Note: You don't have to manage challenging situations alone. If issues persist, escalate through your line manager, HR, or Employee Assistance Programmes.  

  • Example: If a colleague consistently delegates their work to you despite discussions, document instances and raise it with your line manager.  

Clarifying and Communicating Boundaries Using the 'Important To Me/ Important For Me' Tool  

This tool helps you clarify your needs ('Important To Me') and then articulate how colleagues can support them ('Important For Me'). Use it to prepare one boundary you want to set.  

1. Important To Me:  

  • What must happen, or not happen, for you to feel well, manage stress, and have a healthy work-life balance? These are your non-negotiables.  

  For example:  

‘I need a quiet 30-45 minutes each morning to get my head into gear and plan my day. Working out is also important to me because it’s where I can switch off and destress after a difficult day. I need to get to the gym before it gets too busy.’  

  2. Important For Me ( how my colleagues can support me ):  

  • What specific actions or communication would help your colleagues support your 'Important To Me' needs? This is the actionable, communicable boundary.  

  For example: (for above):  

‘ Please don’t schedule any meetings for me before 10am. I like to always catch my 5.10pm train .  If you need me to stay late, please tell me in advance so I can plan my gym schedule. ’    

Beyond the Individual: Creating a Shared Team Understanding  

While the 'Important To / Important For' tool is powerful for personal clarity, its true strength emerges when shared.  

Imagine if every team member identified what was 'Important To' them for their wellbeing and how they'd like colleagues to be 'Important For' them in support. This creates a shared, explicitly communicated understanding of how the team can actively support each other's boundaries.  

This collective 'contracting' isn't just about individual needs; it directly contributes to:  

  • Enhanced Team Effectiveness:  With clear expectations, roles are clearer, and communication improves.  

  • Increased Resilience:  Team members are better supported to avoid burnout and recover.  

  • Improved Collective Wellbeing:  A culture of respect for boundaries benefits everyone's mental and physical health.  

  • Boosted Morale:  When colleagues feel understood and supported, job satisfaction and team spirit naturally increase.  

  • Improved Performance:  Supported, well-rested teams are more engaged, creative, and productive.  

Further Information & Resources  

For those looking to deepen their understanding, explore ethical guidelines, or seek further support on professional boundaries and workplace wellbeing, consider these reputable sources:  

About the author  

Mike is the Head of Education and Training at the Estia Centre. He specialised in action learning, leadership and organisational development programmes .  If you are interested in finding out more about professional boundaries then please look at the ‘ Developing Your Team’s Resilience ’ programme for managers, team leaders and supervisor s and the Developing Personal Resilience City & Guilds Assured programme for direct support staff.  

References  

  • Sonnentag, S. and Fritz, C. (2015). The Recovery Experience in Organizations: A Systematic Review.  Journal of Organizational Behavior , 36(S1), pp. S72-S103.  

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