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Paying the Costs to Be the Boss: Boundary-Setting

Paying the Costs to Be the Boss: Boundary-Setting. Presenters: Markita Riley Researcher: Pachia Xiong. Honestly, how many Of You struggled with issues of boundary-setting in the workplace? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Shi8PZ-jc. A boundary is a limit.

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Paying the Costs to Be the Boss: Boundary-Setting

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  1. Paying the Costs to Be the Boss: Boundary-Setting Presenters: Markita Riley Researcher: Pachia Xiong

  2. Honestly, how many Of You struggled with issues of boundary-setting in the workplace?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Shi8PZ-jc

  3. A boundary is a limit. • It can be seen as a fence…Think of fencing off a person’s property physically from another person’s property. • It is the same in the workplace! It is the ability of knowing when you end and another begins.

  4. Two categories of boundaries in the workplace: • Personal-Interpersonal appropriateness (what YOU feel is ok in workplace interactions) • Professional-The limits and responsibilities of those that you interact with in the workplace (These are negotiated through the organizational culture, which means the unspoken/spoken norms and expectations given at work) • Tend to overlap in our helping profession

  5. Boundary Setting • Boundary setting is the art of establishing these limits of acceptable and unacceptable workplace boundaries • We live where we work…so boundary-setting can become increasingly difficult • Expectations are higher, so are our many obligations, which can lead to burnout

  6. Issues among professional staff: • Unsolicited confiding: The client. A coworker or employee shares a personal problem, a bit of gossip, a critical opinion, or a confidence. “No secrets in higher education” • Uncontrolled access: The free-for-all. The “open door” policy that turns into “open window”, “opening a closed door”, etc. that ends up affecting your productivity. Even technology plays a role as easy access provides a double-edge sword for maintaining work-life balance.

  7. Issues among professional staff: • Unwanted associations: Alemon. Those interactions where an employee makes a great first impression, but you slowly find out they have a poor work ethic and tends not to pull their weight. • Unanticipated involvement:Peanut gallery. These are coworkers or bosses that have strong views about what should or shouldn’t be taking place at work. It starts off innocent and logical, but it can also be from old resentments and personal interests. This is the “Mean Girls” approach, you either join in or you possibly are an outcast.

  8. Issues among students/student staff: • Millennial students have more diverse personal characteristics than previous generations with their own high expectations, i.e., quick customer service, full integration to the newest technology, and the ability to have instant, ongoing access to staff via e-mail, instant messaging, and other technological forms of communication… • Students believe they “pay” for us to deal with their issues at any given time they choose • Students that forget you are an authority figure and not their friend • Name a few you can think of (Linder, 2011)

  9. Why should you practice boundary-setting? • Defining workplace boundaries ensures that institutions will work more efficiently and lead to a healthier, supportive workplace environment. • Your boundary builds your brand because it defines you at work. Setting your expectations at work allows others to know how to interact with you. (Personal) • Without boundaries, we allow others to impose themselves on our daily work and impact our careers. With them, we have the autonomy to regain control over these interactions. • Overall, it allows us to be assertive and communicate needs…form our fence!

  10. Tips on how to set or re-establish boundaries: • Engage in regular and authentic self-assessment and reflection: Check yourself first! • Assess the potential to affect external factors at work and home: Find balance in your job that works for your needs. • Identify gaps between priorities and behavior and make changes to align them: Know what is most important to you and make sure your actions match this. (School, family) (Linder, 2011)

  11. Tips on how to set or re-establish boundaries: • Prioritize quality over quantity of time spent in various situations. Be selective. • Let go of the desire to satisfy everyone else’s needs and expectations. Know your limits. • Recognize personal and professional circumstances change and establishing boundaries is a continual process. As your situation changes, so will your boundaries. (Linder, 2011)

  12. Scenario 1 Your RA Sara comes to you and tells you that she thinks the newly hired RD Dion is an idiot. She says that she overheard him in his apartment with residents. It sounded like they were drinking, and she believes that he may be dating a few of his residents as she has seen him with female residents in his room. Sara begins to complain that he never does anything when residents are breaking policy and she along with the other staff members always have to do it for him. Issue is you found out from another staff member that Sara had a former relationship with Dion.

  13. Scenario 2 Leslie’s boss Jeffrey Orzolek is always on the go. When Leslie send business e-mails about concerns in her building, he says he is busy being a new father to baby Jake and cannot respond to her e-mails in a timely manner between feedings and diaper changes. She tries to see him during his time in the office, but he always seems to be tweeting new baby pictures and updating his Facebook status on how fatherhood is SO great. She doesn’t want to say anything in fear that it will ruin her work relationship.

  14. Scenario 3 Jennifer has the most experience out of all her fellow RDs and always want to make herself available to them when needed. Lately, Jennifer is feeling as if they are taking advantage of her offer (i.e. helping them with duty, paperwork, programming, etc.) Since they are newer to the field, Jennifer doesn’t want to discourage them from doing their job as well as not wanting to create tension between her fellow staff members.

  15. Scenario 4 During a 1 on 1 with one of your RAs, Ashley, she expresses anger and frustration with her fellow RA, Juan. Ashley expressed that Juan has not been completing rounds and other duty obligations. He never has his door open and doesn’t help residents when asked; instead, Juan sends them another staff member. You happened to be fairly close to Juan due to him being on your staff previously, and you tend to see him as more of a friend than a staff member.

  16. Scenario 5 Jack is an RA on Mark’s staff, and he has been texting him constantly. He always seem to have questions about everything, job-related or not. He is very enthusiastic about his job and school and feels the need to constantly tell Mark what is going on in his life. After a long day of work and classes, Mark hears his phone go off at 2am. Mark checks and sees a chain of messages from Jack that day.

  17. Resources • Bluestein, J. (n.d.) The challenge of setting boundaries. Parent Rise Help for Today’s Families. Retrieved from http://www.parentrise.com/parenting/setting-boundries.html • Carroll, J. (2003, September 15). Setting boundaries. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Setting-Boundaries- With/45304 • Lavelle, S. L. (n.d.) Maintaining appropriate boundaries in the workplace: Recognizing healthy and unhealthy boundary characteristics. Ease at Work.Retrieved from http://www.easeatwork.com/maintaining- appropriate-boundaries-in-the-workplace-recognizing-healthy-and- unhealthy-boundary-characteristics/ • Lennon, D. (2011, August 8). Are coworkers crossing the line? Check your boundaries. Business Fitness. Retrieved from http://dawnlennon.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/are-coworkers-crossing-the- line-check-your-boundaries/ • Linder, K. (2011). Why do student affairs educators struggle to set professional boundaries?. In Magolda, P. M., & Baxter Magolda, M. B. (Eds.), Contested issues in student affairs: Diverse perspectives and respectful dialogue(437-452) Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC. • Moriarty, M. (n.d.) Workplace coach: Setting and keeping boundaries. Pathways to Change: Maximizing Human Potential in Individuals and Organizations. Retrieved from http://pathtochange.com/2010/10/workplace-coach-setting- keeping-boundaries/ • National Education Association. (2008, February). Best practices: Setting boundaries and being productive. Higher Education Advocate. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/34619.htm

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