Balancing our boundaries with our responsibilities is a delicate dance and covid-19 has been stepping on our toes for months.
While working from home blurred the borders between our personal and professional lives, the pressure not to ‘drop the ball’ has chipped away at the conditions we place around our time and energy. We inch back a little more each time as the demands of the lockdown encroach further into our space.
When we know the extra effort we need to put in is time limited, and in the interest of a defined goal, we can accept a certain amount of discomfort. But when there’s no end date and the goalposts keep moving, what impact does this constant compromise have on our resilience and wellbeing?
With a recent survey revealing that the average age of career burnout is now 32, as a result of lockdown exhaustion, what can employers can do to protect their people? And, as we continue to see our boundaries pushed to the limit, how can we find ways to redefine them when we feel stuck between a rock and a hard place?
Cultural anthropologist Dr Alex Gapud and head of people Mike Hogan explored the theoretical and real world impact on boundaries and burnout, what IC and HR teams can do to help their people and how we can all take steps to prioritise our own wellbeing.
Guest panelist
We were delighted to be joined by Claire Vivyan Roberts, head of employee communications and experience at VISA.
Looking for a specific question? Here are the timestamps.
00:00 Introduction to the session
02:22 Panel introduction
07:40 Alex explains what we mean by ‘boundaries‘
12:43 If boundaries are a negotiation, how will the EVP evolve as employees needs and wants change?
17:38 Constantly changing messages can have a ‘switch off’ effect as people shut down to protect the boundaries around their energy. How can we keep engagement up?
22:02 What are some of the possible effects of these new ways from working from a broader social perspective?
26:26 How do we deal with leaders or clients who might expect us to keep working harder and for longer? Is it creating a culture of presenteeism or output based performance?
30:41 How can you mitigate conflict between what‘s best for the employer and the employee?
36:57 How can frontline colleagues work with employers to protect their boundaries?
40:35 What are some tangible things that can be done to help build resilience as we go into the winter months?
