Boundaries. Jennie Miller

the process.’

      VINCENT VAN GOGH

      We’ve all heard of the concept of work-life balance, but how many of us practice it? It’s too easy to work just a little longer to impress the boss, on the one hand; or to take an extra 20 minutes in the pub at lunchtime when you no longer care to impress anyone – on the other.

      Thanks to technology, work has become even more consuming than it ever was. The reality of modern life also interferes with the best-laid plans – as our mobile devices have become ubiquitous, intrusive and often can seem impossible to escape. Would van Gogh have created so many of his 2,000-odd paintings, sketches and drawings had he also been checking his FB page several times each day? It’s a sobering thought.

      So, establishing boundaries around your work will help you achieve balance on a practical level, improving your relations with colleagues and the boss, supporting you through workplace issues like bullying and romantic entanglements and making work life more pleasant overall. This section of the book applies regardless of whether you are employer, employee, freelancer, consultant, charity worker, stay-at-home mum (it’s definitely a full-time job), or intern. We’ll still be asking you to complete exercises – remember, there are no right or wrong answers – and keep adding notes to build your Learning Journal.

      We talked about social media in Step One: Me, Myself and I, and we’ve built on that with advice concerning all forms of mobile distraction, engagement and temptation. But we’re also interested in exploring those other intangible boundaries that dictate how we relate to our colleagues, bosses and employees, as these relationships are some of the most intense and therefore time-consuming that we have during our lives.

      For example, it can be easy to believe that work relationships are crucial to our happiness – how often do you hear people refer to my ‘work husband’ or ‘work wife’? Indeed, a 2006 survey quoted by CNN Money found that 32 per cent of office workers said they have an office ‘spouse,’ with many having more than one. But that perceived importance is not necessarily based in reality. Their value often lies more in how they affect our outside relationships and the way we treat ourselves.

      In the UK, we typically spend 40.8 hours a week at work, compared to a European average of 38.1 hours according to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. If this time is full of tension and conflict on an interpersonal level, let alone tiring and stressful physically, we’re setting ourselves up for misery.