What is self-care at work?
3 tips to protect your boundaries!
What is self-care? On the one hand, it means becoming aware of your own needs, desires, and boundaries. On the other hand, it involves protecting those boundaries and intentionally paying attention to self-care activities. Do you take enough time to slow down and regulate your mental, physical, and emotional well-being? Get inspired by different self-care examples, tips, and the ultimate self-care checklist!
Heidi De Roo
What is self-care at work? Self-care is the ability to take care of yourself — on the one hand by becoming aware of your own needs, desires, and boundaries, and on the other hand by protecting those boundaries and intentionally engaging in self-care activities. In a world where we often keep pushing forward, we tend to forget the importance of recovery moments. This has a direct impact on our well-being at work.
Do you take enough time to slow down and regulate your mental, physical, and emotional well-being? In this article, get inspired by various self-care examples, tips, and a self-care checklist!
- What is self-care at work (and how does it contribute to well-being)?
- Self-care examples & activities
- 8 life domains
- 3 self-care tips — how to protect your boundaries
- The ultimate self-care checklist
What is self-care at work (and how does it contribute to well-being)?
What is self-care? The word speaks for itself: taking care of yourself. At its core, self-care is about recognizing and protecting your own boundaries and limits. This also means consciously making time and freeing up energy to focus on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being at work.
Unfortunately, within our culture, upbringing, and life experiences, we often unlearn how to listen to our bodies. We keep pushing forward and ignore signals of overstimulation:
- Physical – Number of hours worked, time spent on your phone, weekend work, etc.
- Mental – Information overload, forgetfulness, cognitive overload, etc.
- Emotional – Irritability, mood swings, exhaustion, etc.
In the long term, this can lead to serious consequences such as reduced self-confidence or self-worth. That is why it is important to actively respond to these signals. Keep reading and learn how to recognize, communicate, and regulate your boundaries!
Self-care examples & activities
Self-care activities are actions or practices that help you regain energy. What this looks like differs for everyone. Whether it’s a day of complete rest, reading a good book, or taking a walk in nature — self-care activities help you relax and recharge.
People who make time for self-care experience less stress and improve their overall well-being (including at work). They listen to the signals of their body, consciously seek ways to relax, and develop a more positive outlook toward themselves and the world.
Some examples of self-care include:
- Mental self-care – Positive affirmations, gratitude practices, etc.
- Physical self-care – Exercise, movement, physical activity, etc.
- Emotional self-care – Expression, relaxation, emotional release, etc.
Get inspired by more self-care examples and tips in the checklist at the end!
8 life domains
What actions can you take starting today to improve well-being at work — and beyond? Are there signals you recognize but haven’t acted on yet? And what does self-care mean to you?
The 8 life domains represent areas in which we invest time to create a fulfilling life. While there are different interpretations of the model, we define eight domains where you can actively protect your boundaries:
- Physical – Movement, nutrition, sleep, rest, hygiene, etc.
- Mental/Cognitive – Logical thinking, mindfulness, creativity, motivation, thoughts, etc.
- Emotional – Recognizing, exploring, and regulating emotions
- Professional – Well-being at work within the organization, team, role, and financial context
- Social – Need for connection, acceptance, and like-minded people
- Relaxation – Reflection, enjoyment, comfort, letting go, expression
- Self-development – Learning and development goals, knowledge, and skills
- Spiritual – Meaning, values, beliefs, higher goals, motivation, and vision
Depending on your personal situation and goals, you may focus more on certain self-care activities than others. You can also think beyond these eight life domains. However, we often try to over-optimize while still lacking strong foundational habits. For example, you can apply every productivity tip available, but without fundamental basics like good sleep, you will never reach your full potential.
3 self-care tips – How to protect your boundaries
So how can you protect your boundaries? Discover three self-care tips below!
1) Awareness & setting boundaries
First and foremost, it is important to become aware of your own boundaries. Which signals have you been ignoring for too long? Rest is essential. You cannot keep pushing when you are mentally or physically exhausted. What can or do you not want to do — and why? Where do you no longer want to invest your time or energy? Discovering where your boundaries lie can therefore also be seen as part of self-care.
2) Protecting & communicating boundaries
Next, it is equally important to actively protect your boundaries:
- Toward yourself: We often push ourselves beyond our comfort zone. However, it is important to accept your own limits as well. Too often, we identify ourselves with what we do and attach a conditional requirement to self-worth: “I am only good enough if I achieve something.” In reality, you are much more than what you accomplish.
- Toward others: Learn to communicate your boundaries clearly to others. You can do this by using the 4G feedback model to share not only observable facts but also your underlying — and often invisible — thoughts and emotions.
It can be valuable to occasionally stretch your boundaries to expand your comfort zone. However, when overstimulation continues for too long or becomes too intense, the opposite effect occurs.
3) Self-regulation
Finally, it is important to find methods to regulate yourself. In other words: how can you relax, cool down, or let go? Self-regulation starts with sensing and recognizing signals. Instead of reacting automatically, you do the opposite:
- You slow down. Inform your environment and take some distance.
- You calm yourself. Breathing is the body’s reset button. A deep sigh increases oxygen levels and provides an energetic reset. It literally helps us release or shake off emotions.
- You regulate. Discover methods that help you regulate yourself so you can return with a fresh perspective.
Recently, we witnessed a powerful example of self-care and regulation during a group conversation with a client:
“A discussion between managers became heated. Before harsh words could be exchanged, one manager stood up and said, ‘I’m going for a walk before I come back to respond.’ Although the rest of the team initially looked surprised, it soon became clear that continuing in the moment would only lead to more frustration or regret. When the manager returned, everyone had already calmed down. The manager was even applauded for the decision and self-control!”
The manager:
- Recognizes their limits and intervenes before the situation escalates.
- Communicates boundaries calmly and objectively to the team.
- Takes distance and uses self-care activities to regain calm.
- Returns with a fresh and neutral perspective.
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The ultimate self-care checklist!
How well do you take care of yourself? And what about the rest of your team? This self-care checklist includes three reflection questions for each life domain, helping you gain insight into which self-care activities deserve more attention.
So, what can you do to improve your well-being at work? Discover all self-care examples and tips here:
It is widely known that self-care is crucial for well-being, yet we often devote little time or attention to it. When a bow is always kept under tension, it loses its strength — it becomes overstretched. The same applies to us. There is absolutely nothing wrong with working hard and fully committing yourself. But to sustain that pace, you must spend at least as much time genuinely relaxing and recovering.
In short, sometimes you need to take two steps back to move one step forward. Well-being at work looks different for everyone, but it often comes down to living a balanced life. As human beings, we have a limited amount of energy. Instead of being driven by the pace of life, you can consciously choose where to invest your energy — for example, in self-care!
