Work can be incredibly draining if you allow it to be, especially if you work in an environment with unhealthy dynamics. Whether your boss yells too often or assigns too many projects, it’s easy to feel disrespected. But you can take your power back by emotionally detaching from work and saying no more often. Here are eight strategies to reclaim your peace in the workplace.
1. Turn Off Your Electronics After Hours
In toxic workplaces, employees are often expected to be on-call at all hours even though they aren’t paid for it. But you shouldn’t let your employer disrespect you by infringing on your personal time. Take back your power by shutting off your work phone and computer after the business day ends. That way you won’t be tempted to check your email and respond at night when you should be resting and enjoying family time.
2. Say No More Often
Part of taking back your power in the workplace is learning to say no more often. If your boss sets an unreasonable deadline or a client makes an unrealistic demand, you’re within your rights to say no. You don’t have to bend over backwards to fulfill nearly impossible requests. Other people’s lack of planning doesn’t constitute an emergency on your part.
Explain why the request they’re making isn’t doable, such as a lack of resources or time constraints due to existing deadlines. Suggesting an alternative timeline that’s feasible can help you readjust expectations and find a solution that works for everyone.
3. Emotionally Detach
We all take pride in our work and want to perform well. However, being too emotionally invested in your job is usually a mistake. It’s important to cultivate meaningful hobbies and interests outside of work so you don’t derive too much of your identity from your role. Remaining emotionally objective throughout the workday will also help you take your power back. Taking every snippy comment from customers or colleagues to heart could make you miserable. Instead of reading into these interactions and allowing them to make you feel bad about yourself, try to emotionally detach as much as possible.
4. Never Give 110%
Going above and beyond at work isn’t always rewarded. If you regularly operate at 110%, your employer may start to expect this output from you and question you when it drops. As such, you should try not to stretch yourself thin at work on a regular basis. If there’s consistently too much on your plate, you may need to have a conversation with your boss about getting extra support or recalibrating your workload.
5. Keep Developing Your Skills
Committing to lifelong learning will give you leverage in the workplace. Cultivating in-demand skills will help ensure you always have career opportunities and never feel stuck at a particular job. Knowing that you could leave and get hired quickly will enable you to take more risks.
Instead of playing small at work, you’ll be able to ask for the career development opportunities and raises that you want. You’ll also have an easier time speaking your mind and setting boundaries because you won’t be as worried about getting let go.
6. Make Adjustments to Improve Your Work Experience
According to Psychology Today, another way to take back your power is to make adjustments to your work experience. Instead of slogging through tasks you hate, ask yourself if there are any tools or process changes that would make them easier. You can even ask your boss to restructure your role and swap unenjoyable duties with tasks you like and excel at.
Another way to tweak your work environment is to change your interactions with coworkers. If there’s someone you don’t enjoy interacting with, you can try to minimize your contact as much as possible. Making an effort to find new friends and collaborators can also make your job more enjoyable.
7. Find a Mentor
A good mentor can give you advice on how to grow your career and take back your power in the workplace. Finding a trusted, experienced advisor allows you to learn from their mistakes and successes. They can teach you the lessons and strategies they’ve learned, allowing you to advocate for yourself more effectively. Whether you’re trying to get the pay that you deserve or carve out better work-life balance, a mentor will discuss your goals with you and help you figure out how to achieve them.
8.Don’t Be Too Trusting
In order to collaborate effectively you have to trust that your coworkers will perform to the best of their abilities. Being overly skeptical of your peers will damage your work relationships. However, you can’t be too trusting of your colleagues either. Getting close to a coworker and opening up too much can come back to haunt you. You never know when someone will use information you’ve disclosed to them against you so be careful what you say to whom.
Thriving at Work
We all have to work to live, but the experience doesn’t have to be miserable. Even if others around you don’t always exhibit professional behavior, you can still create a more positive work environment for yourself. Making an effort to find new collaborators and empowering mentors can help improve your job experience. Establishing boundaries and saying no can also boost your work-life balance, enabling you to enjoy your personal time without interruptions.