What are work role boundaries including responsibilities and limitations and why are these important?

This topic is based around the ethics, legal and moral limits, and standards which you must deploy as a professional Support Worker to protect customers and your fellow workers from physical, emotional and financial harm, ensuring you are not compromised in any way.   Differing from other topics covered, there are clear parameters that need to be consistently followed and applied, therefore this session is unlike other more fluid areas covered in previous blogs. 

The key focus areas include:

• Privacy and confidentiality

• Duty of Care

• Friendships

• Conflict of interest

• Drugs and alcohol

• Gifts

• Employee pets

• Sexual and intimate relationships

Please note: it is critical that you cross reference this generic overview with your organization’s policies and procedures as some may differ depending on your service model.

SupportWorker Co. will take no responsibility for your own personal actions in this domain. You are obliged to clarify expectations and professional boundaries with your employer directly. Should you be unsure of ANY of these practices, please refer to the Quality and Safeguarding Commission, NDIS Commission or other regulatory agencies who monitor and govern workplace practices, e.g., Fair Work, WHS, equal opportunities etc.

Underpinning every choice, action, and decision you make should be the NDIS Code of Conduct and their 7 principals which are:

• act with respect for individual rights to freedom of expression, self-determination, and decision-making in accordance with relevant laws and conventions

• respect the privacy of people with a disability

• provide supports and services in a safe and competent manner utilizing care and skill

• act with integrity, honesty, and transparency

• take prompt steps to raise / act on concerns about matters that might have an impact on the quality and safety of supports provided to people with disability

• take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to all forms of violence, exploitation, neglect, and abuse of people with disability

• take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct.

For more information please refer to:  NDIS Code of Conduct (NDIS Providers) | NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (ndiscommission.gov.au).

To simplify how you can ensure that you always adopt professional boundaries, consider these 3 key areas of application:

Being under involved with your customer, which essentially suggests you are not present, (on your mobile phone too much?), being neither observant, considerate nor responsive to their needs. This could result in allowing them to engage in high risks activities which may be harmful.

It could mean you are being neglectful, (e.g., not encouraging the application of sunscreen which may result in painful sunburn at the beach or elsewhere), abuse in your personal language, style, tone, or loose talk in front of others in relation to you personally engaging in illegal activities.

These are obviously extreme examples, but over time these actions can subtly creep into our daily working life, therefore it is important to self-check regularly and be vigilant, particularly if you are fatigued or dealing with challenging behaviors. 

Doing the right thing – focus on the person, not their disability. Determine their preferences, foster their potential, and help to enable growth. Encourage independence whilst minimizing high risk strategies therefore enabling a higher quality of life, accessing their choices whilst promoting their inclusion in decision making within their social groups.  Monitor and help to manage their health conditions and overall wellbeing.

Over-involved – when the lines between you providing a paid service and your own personal care for the customer become blurred, it can be deemed inappropriate and sometimes dangerous for both of you. 

This may include becoming involved in their life in an unprofessional manner, e.g., ‘being their friend’ as opposed to being friendly, meeting with them outside of scheduled hours etc. It is critical to ensure that the relationship between the employee and customer does not take priority over service delivery and our duties within.

Neglecting this could be highly risky and may cause confusion and anxiety to the customer should the Support Worker leave or does not engage more fully over time (which he/she should not). This can quickly lead to upset and emotional distress.

This type of approach is intrusive, exploitative and could be deemed abusive and controlling in nature. This may translate to a NDIS reportable incident, or even become included in the Royal Commission’s investigation process.

It is critical that you always “keep to your role parameters (swim lane)” and “do the right thing”. Do not deviate to ensure both you and your customer are always protected from unwarranted and inaccurate allegations. 

How does this work in practice?  What are the hints and tips related to this?

Privacy and confidentiality – never discuss or share your customer’s personal information with ANYONE without their permission, (or their guardians), but only to those who are privy to this information for support purposes only. Never discuss your customers details with friends and family- this is both inappropriate and illegal under the Privacy Act. 

Duty of Care – Always act in ways that will not expose others to an unreasonable risk of harm, be it physical, psychological, or financial. Your role as a Support Worker is to protect others from risk of harm or injury which could be foreseen and anticipated.

This requires of knowledge of the person, their abilities, limitations, and any planned activities.  Never provide advice or expertise outside of your scope of expertise. If you become aware of an issue related to duty of care, always report this issue using the process of your local organization. 

Friendships: The role of a Support Worker is to enable your customer to build, support and strengthen social, family and community connections, not “be their friend”. You are there to provide a paid professional service, therefore it is inappropriate to foster friendships with their family members as there are risks in blurring the boundaries of a professional relationship as stated in a previous paragraph.

This MUST be handled with sensitivity and common sense, otherwise you may be faced with unreasonable demands and expectations leading to undue stress, challenges with objectivity, behavior management and possible grief and loss for the customer.  Fundamentally, your role is to assist your customer in become independent, not dependent on you!

Conflict of Interest: This area could render a Support Worker unable to be impartial, thereby being compromised in acting in the best interests of their employer/customer. This could create tension or conflict which again could blur the lines of professionalism. 

This could incorporate financial or other interests which may compromise your duties, decision making, complaint handling or applying policies of privacy breach. If in doubt, speak to your team leader in relation to this, e.g., having a support worker’s family member report to them, being employed by another conflicting employer, declaring interests in a supplier, e.g., shares etc.  

Drugs and alcohol:  It is highly inappropriate for a team member to be involved in the purchase / consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs at any time whilst supporting a customer. 

Sexual and intimate relationships:  It is contrary to the NDIS Code of Conduct for any Support Workers to engage in a sexual and/or intimate relationship between customers and/or family members. Should this occur, it would be mandatory to relinquish your work immediately, and resign as this action would be subject to instant dismissal.

Summary

There are number of areas critical to maintaining your professional boundaries as a Support Worker and it is imperative that you always “do the right thing” from an ethics, legal and best practice perspective. If unsure at any time, please liaise with both your employer and the appropriate professional body, ensuring you have been given clarity on the parameters of your role thereby minimizing the risk of you or your customer being compromised.

Employees have a lot of different kinds of relationships in the workplace. Dealing with managers, colleagues, different departments, partners, prospects and customers can be challenging, especially if employees don’t set boundaries for themselves. Healthy boundaries ensure everyone is aware of what you consider acceptable behavior. While individuals can set up their own boundaries, business owners and leaders should also set up boundaries for the workplace.

Boundaries in the workplace ensure everyone can thrive. Without boundaries, employees may feel stressed, angry, confused or resentful. Having strong relationships with people at work starts with defining the kind of behavior that is suitable for the environment. According to Mind Body Green, there are several different types of boundaries you should be aware of:

• Time boundaries: This is especially important in the workplace, otherwise employees may over-commit their time. Employees should understand that their time is valuable, so they should not dedicate it to things that are contrary to their role or job description. It’s critical to prioritize your tasks and have the ability to say no when you are not able to commit time to something else. Respect time boundaries by showing up on time for meetings, not asking for free labor and understanding that employees have commitments outside of work.
• Intellectual boundaries: In the workplace, employees may deal with colleagues who have different ways of doing things or different solutions to problems. In some cases, they may disagree with an idea or process. It’s important for employees to understand that they can have a respectful discussion with a colleague if they disagree intellectually regarding something at work. They should also know that they have the right to walk away from unhealthy conversations where people are expressing prejudice against others.
• Material boundaries: Has an employee ever complained that someone took their lunch from the fridge or that their work boots have gone missing? This is a case of material boundaries being violated. Make sure your employees are aware that they cannot infringe upon another person’s property. They can also say no if they are not comfortable with someone borrowing their things.
• Physical boundaries: Each person has different physical limits, and this is especially important to note for physically demanding jobs. Some people can be on their feet for longer than others, while some have difficulty sitting for hours at a time. Respect employees' physical boundaries and provide them with breaks to change their position if they need it. It’s also important to not invade anyone’s physical space, such as by hugging them unexpectedly.
• Emotional boundaries: Work is stressful for many employees, and they have strong feelings about specific aspects of work. Avoid dismissing an employee’s feelings if they choose to share some feedback with you. Invite employees to be honest about their feedback. Employees should know that their feelings are valid and they have permission to share them with others at work.

One of the most advantageous benefits of setting boundaries is that there are clear expectations, according to Corporate Communication Experts. When employees know what is considered acceptable at work, they are much more likely to meet those expectations. If the boundaries around specific things are not clear, they may unintentionally make a mistake. For example, time boundaries are of the utmost importance at work. If your work hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and an employee continuously sets meetings for 6:30 p.m., they are violating the time boundaries you have set for your business.

However, if you have not made it clear that you do not want to attend meetings in the evening after work hours, then they won't know you find this unacceptable. While setting clear boundaries can involve uncomfortable conversations, it’s important to have them early on so that it is clear to all employees what you expect.

Clear and effective communication is imperative in the workplace. Boundaries can help to significantly reduce misunderstandings because they act as a set of rules and guidelines. For example, an employee’s performance review may include some difficult conversations if they have not been meeting standards. However, with emotional boundaries in place, employees feel more comfortable sharing the difficulties they have been having, while managers are more understanding and don’t dismiss negative feedback.

Arguments and disagreements can also be reduced with boundary setting in the workplace. If two employees are disputing about a process they want to implement, they need to know they can have a calm and collected discussion if it’s clear that intellectual boundaries are important and respected in the workplace.

Setting boundaries at work helps employees connect more with each other. When there are fewer stressful disagreements and uncomfortable conversations, employees are more likely to feel fulfilled at work. Encourage employees to also set their coworker relationship boundaries for what they deem acceptable. For example, an employee may conduct all their calls on speaker phone and disturb the whole office. If it is clear to them that their coworkers find that unacceptable, they may change their behavior.

Setting boundaries with your boss is also vital in the workplace, and employees should know they have the ability to do that. As a business owner and leader, you can also help your subordinates set their own boundaries, as many may not feel comfortable bringing it up with a superior. For example, if you need an employee to work overtime, don’t make it a mandatory situation. Ask them if they have the time on the weekend to dedicate to work or if they have family commitments instead. Showing this respect for their boundaries will help them make an extra effort in the workplace.

Similarly, if an employee requests time off for personal reasons, don’t ask them to justify their time off if they have the available vacation or personal days. You can violate people’s emotional boundaries by making them feel guilty for taking things they are already owed.

At work, processes and procedures ensure that tasks get done right. With clear boundaries in place, your business can improve upon your processes and procedures even further. Creating structure is an important part of boundary setting, according to Forbes.

For example, if your workplace constantly has meetings that run over time without getting anything accomplished, set up the expectation that each meeting needs to have an agenda with time allotments for each topic. Similarly, if your business has an inaccurate inventory count, set boundaries for how employees need to calculate stock orders so that you know exactly how much product you have at any given time.

Boundaries in the workplace help to increase overall efficiency. There are fewer mistakes, project derailments and missed deadlines because expectations are clear and employees are encouraged to communicate openly and honestly. With stronger relationships with their managers and colleagues, employees are more satisfied, so it is likely there is less turnover and absenteeism. Boundaries ensure everyone feels respected at work and is able to state what is considered acceptable behavior. Businesses can increase productivity and meet customer demands more effectively once they set boundaries for the workplace and encourage staff to set individual boundaries as well.