Empowering women in the workplace means we need to learn to set boundaries, practice self-care and build a network. How do you do this?
Set Boundaries: Protect Your Time and Energy
Boundaries can have a negative connotation because of the way in which society teaches girls and women. It can be difficult to think that you need to set boundaries because girls and women are taught that they don’t have the right to do this. If we have boundaries, it means that we don’t also have care and love for others. They think it means that people will leave you rather than respect your boundaries, and putting those boundaries up means that you have a cold heart. Lastly, having boundaries means that you are not willing to change when the situation calls for it.
When women allow beliefs like those listed above to keep them from enforcing their boundaries, they can easily allow people to step all over them. This throws all the hard work you did to create your boundaries out the window. In addition to that, if you have low self-esteem, you may not believe that you are entitled to have boundaries in the first place.
In order to get past sentiments like the ones above, think of boundaries as your “love language.” You set boundaries for the people you love, so boundaries are not about keeping people at bay but are about expressing your love. They are what strengthen our relationships; they do not build walls that keep people away from us.
Boundaries set us up to have a positive sense of well-being, and they promote the following:
- Independence
- Emotional energy conservation
- Better self-esteem
Practice Self-Care: Prioritize Mental Health Daily
Self-care is focusing on specific routines or activities that promote good health and well-being. Self-care is not a self-centered thing to do because, when you neglect self-care, you experience burnout, emotional exhaustion and increasing levels of stress. You have many types of self-care to choose from, such as spiritual, social, mental, intellectual, emotional and physical. When you select one or more ways to engage in self-care, you experience several benefits, including the following:
- An increase in confidence and self-esteem
- Increased self-awareness
- An improvement in mood, focus and productivity
- A decreased risk of burnout
- Less stress
Build a Network: Connect with Likeminded Professionals
The network you will build is a support system with people who agree to support you when you are in need. You may need emotional support or mental support and support for the practical things in life. This includes childcare and finances. However, don’t think that your support group is only for difficult times. They are also open to you when things are going well.
When you are feeling lonely, a support system you can check in with is a highly important asset for you to have. That is because loneliness has been associated with cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, diminished immunity and hypertension. There may even be a link between loneliness and an elevated risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer and infectious diseases.
If you need help with setting boundaries or building a network, contact River & Rose Therapy to obtain the help you need.
