“The damage doesn’t stop when you log out.” Stress expert Elke Van Hoof on setting boundaries, digital disconnection, and work-life balance.
How often do you say “yes” when you actually mean “no”? Do you quickly check your work email in the evening, or skip your lunch break because you “have to”? And how does that affect your stress levels in the long run?
Elke Van Hoof explains what happens in your brain when work encroaches on your personal time. In doing so, she makes an important distinction that we often overlook: when is something truly a necessity at work, and when does it feel more like a desire of your own or of others?
Because that’s exactly where things often go wrong. We treat wants as if they were urgent needs. An email that can wait until tomorrow, a task that would be “convenient” to finish right now, a coworker who asks for something that isn’t a priority… By failing to draw a clear distinction, your boundaries blur almost automatically.
She explains why setting boundaries is so difficult, how perfectionism and people-pleasing can overwhelm you, and why strictly separating work and personal life isn’t always the solution. It’s really about making more conscious choices about what truly needs to be done and what can wait.
