Working from home gained ground with the COVID-19 pandemic and, since then, the change has been the subject of much debate. Some defend it and some dislike it. I believe it has indisputable benefits: we gain life time, we do not have to commute and, as a result, we can do many activities that would otherwise probably be cut from our routine.

On the other hand, we need to reflect on something important. Our home is usually the place for rest, for recharging energy and for pleasure, our safe, protected and intimate space. Only people we trust and want nearby come in, chosen and invited by us. But this space, until then safe, has become the work environment, where, at times, people we do not trust or do not even know come in.

Have you ever felt invaded, physically or emotionally, while working from home? When our intimate space is invaded, discomfort sets in quickly.

If we do not know how to name this discomfort, if we do not know why we feel it, we probably also do not know what to do or what decisions to make to deal with it.

This discomfort can also lead us into unhealthy relationships, into conflicts and into a constant sense that nothing is ever good enough. There are other ways for this to happen. When others make decisions for us, for example. Or when people offer opinions without being invited or authorized, or when someone imposes how we should behave or react at a given moment.

If we do not do our part, the other person may do it for us. And in a relationship, we are 100% responsible for our 50%. That means we must take care not to invade the other person’s space and also not to allow the other person to invade ours. If someone invades our territory, it may be that we are not setting our boundaries clearly.

It is about these boundaries that I invite you, and myself, to think. How far can people go with us physically and emotionally? What is our safe space? Who can step into that space?

Sometimes we need to reconfigure and adjust our home so we can work without feeling invaded. Sometimes we need to reconfigure our lives and our relationships, make new contracts, talk about expectations and needs so that we have our safe space.

Is it easy? No. But life can be much lighter. Once boundaries are set, will they last forever? No, that is not so either. We update ourselves every day, and new boundaries become necessary, new dialogues become essential, new physical spaces need to be reconfigured to meet the demands of the moment.

For this to happen, awareness is needed. We do not realize this on our own and need support from someone outside who can help broaden our view. That is a sign of health and strength. It takes courage to dive into the inner world and even more courage to make decisions different from the ones we have managed to make until now.