We are responsible for the amount of effort, energy, and time that we give to our jobs. Consider a boundary rider, their job is to check the fences around the property. If there is a broken fence or one in need of repair, it is the boundary rider's responsibility to fix it so that the cattle do not get out into the neighbouring properties or onto the road. Being aware when our fences are in need of repair so we can keep our cattle in the yard, i.e. keep the boundaries in place to protect our mental health, is an important promise to make to ourselves. Companies are there to make a profit, if that means having one dedicated employee doing the work of two, then, they will generally take everything that the employee offers. With the introduction of the legislation regarding psychosocial hazards companies need to start supporting workers more, however, employees need to self manage and push back, when our fences are in need of repair. Recognising that we do not have to work all the hours that God sends in order to be a valuable worker is a vital step. All too often, high performers don’t realise that their boundaries have been breached and are on a fast track to breakdown or burnout as a result. If you do not have at least 10 consecutive hours per day away from work emails, your fences will come into disrepair. It is foundationally important that we set the boundaries and do not break them. If we start sending emails, responding out of hours, it will become expected by colleagues and supervisors. Therefore, it is important when we start a new job to truly set these boundaries, even if you schedule an email to be sent at a different time that is acceptable but do not allow colleagues to expect you to be working outside of hours. I was recruiting at a mine during the mining boom and I was getting extremely stressed because I could not find any operators. I truly believed that the production of the mine rested on my shoulders. The superintendent at the time, who interestingly was the one who was putting a lot of pressure on me, pulled me aside and said to me, “The mine won't stop, Jade,” and it was a monumental and reassuring point in my career, where I realised I am not responsible for everything and all of my efforts will not single handedly change a situation that is fundamentally out of my control. It is important to note high performers, in particular, have difficulty saying no because they want to do a good job, feel valued, and needed in the workplace. When they have too much on to be productive, it affects their feeling of self worth, confidence, and drags them down. The spiral continues if they are asked to hand over some work to other people as they are scared the handover may expose mistakes and believe that it will be quicker for them to do it themselves. This mindset means that they are less likely to take leave and the spiral continues, this is known as "high functioning anxiety" and a recent article by Forbes highlighted that those suffering with it will likely struggle with feelings of self-doubt, overthink, fear letting others down, experience racing thoughts, meticulously double-check minor details and have difficulty relaxing. These symptoms may present as being detail-oriented, punctuality, perfectionism and being highly-organized.
If you feel like you (or a team member) may be suffering from High Functioning Anxiety and would like some mentoring in setting and maintaining boundaries, Regulating your nervous system and rediscovering the art of focus. I can help with that.
Comments