Workloads are increasing, with many professionals feeling stretched thin across various industry and demographic factors.
In fact, research shows that 52% of Australian workers take a day off each month thanks to stress—a clear sign of the importance of balancing responsibilities.
The start of 2025 is a perfect time to review your commitments and establish boundaries to protect your and your team’s wellbeing.
Understanding the Importance of Saying ‘No’
Declining non-essential tasks isn’t about avoiding responsibility; it’s about protecting your time and energy.
By turning down tasks misaligned with your goals, you can focus on meaningful work, such as promotable projects that advance your career. Women are often assigned non-promotable duties, contributing to invisible workloads that hinder professional growth.
Here’s a checklist to assign tasks with equity:
- Distribute tasks fairly among team members, regardless of gender (e.g., typing speed shouldn’t mean a female employee always takes meeting minutes)
- Be transparent about expectations and who’s been assigned which tasks
- Rotate non-promotable tasks, such as organising team meetings, managing office supplies, onboarding recruits, leading regular team meetings, etc. and
- Speak up about bias and encourage others to do the same.
Foster a workplace culture where setting boundaries is both normal and respected. Saying ‘no’ doesn’t have to be negative—it can be a confident statement or a way to redirect requests positively. For example, suggest an alternative solution or highlight how your focus on current priorities benefits the team.
Boundaries help preserve your focus, energy, and productivity, ensuring your contributions remain meaningful while preventing burnout.
Barriers to Saying ‘No’
If you’ve ever struggled to say no, you’re not alone. Many people face psychological hurdles, such as:
- A strong desire to please others
- The belief that saying ‘yes’ leads to more opportunity
- A lack of confidence in setting boundaries
- Fear of missing out
- Avoiding conflicts at all costs
- Guilt over disappointing others
- Concern about damaging their reputation
- Feeling obligated to reciprocate kindness, or
- A deep sense of duty.
When priorities or societal expectations are unclear—especially for junior team members or women— declining requests can feel even more challenging.
The first step to identify and acknowledge your barriers. Knowing what’s holding you back allows you to take action to set smarter boundaries. A challenge may be cultural or workplace norms, such as in hierarchical organisations that underscore respect for authority.
Leaders can address these norms by fostering openness, promoting sensitivity, and framing requests clearly. Creating an environment where boundaries are respected makes it easier for everyone to say ‘no’ when necessary, even in team-focused or hierarchical workplaces.
Practical Strategies
Try these practical approaches to redirecting those who ask of you:
- Delay: Politely buy time by saying, ‘Let me check my schedule and get back to you’
- Redirect: Suggest someone else better suited for the task
- Compliment: Recognise the requester’s enthusiasm or initiative while respectfully declining
- Cite authority: Refer to advice from mentors or workload constraints a manager has set for you
- Guard rail your support: Offer to help for a smaller, manageable part of the task
- Cite schedule conflicts: Explain existing commitments that stop you from taking on more, and
- Negotiate trade-offs: If at capacity, ask them to prioritise your tasks.
Importance of Setting Boundaries for Leaders
The fine balance is to preserve professional relationships while protecting your time. For managers and team leaders, aim to be nurture a supportive environment where time is valued are respected.
Be alert to signs of burnout and encourage open communication. That approach pays off: recent research covering technology, manufacturing and health care sectors reveals ‘no’ leaders outperform ‘yes’ leaders. Those leaders with a strong sense of boundaries activate higher-order thinking, critical thinking, ownership and adaptability, the research found. Another study reveals that leaders who say ‘no’ to new assignments and challenges shows they’re not impulsive but committed to their organisation’s future.
When Saying ‘No’ Isn’t the Best Choice
However, saying ‘no’ too often has its risks. Overuse can damage relationships, making colleagues feel unsupported. Be selective in saying ‘yes’ so you foster goodwill, build trust, and create opportunities for collaboration.
Helping others occasionally fortifies networks and shows your team-first mindset – qualities that can benefit your career in the long term.
Mastering when to say ‘no’ or ‘yes’ takes practice.
Making It Work for Your Business
As your broker or adviser, we understand how challenging it can be to juggle competing demands while managing your business. Strategic risk management is essential to staying focused and protecting your operations.
Burnout or stress within a business can lead to:
Operational errors, such as process or production mistakes, potentially resulting in property damage or product liability claims.
- Increased workers’ compensation claims due to stress-related injuries.
- Operational errors, such as process or production mistakes, potentially resulting in property damage or product liability claims.
Our role is to ensure your insurance policy is structured to cover these risks, providing peace of mind and safeguarding your business from unforeseen claims. Let us help you tailor the right coverage to protect your business and its operations effectively.