HOW TO (NICELY) PUSH BACK AGAINST HUSTLE CULTURE

SET BOUNDARIES EARLY.

It’s way easier to manage expectations about answering 10 p.m. emails when you start a job than it is to try to claw back from the abyss of replying to all of your boss’ requests.

Too late for that? Respond with an acknowledgement but not an answer, says career coach Sarah Vermunt,

author of Career Rookie. “Say ‘I’ll get right on this tomorrow morning.’ That way your boss knows you’re on it, and after a while he or she won’t expect an immediate response.”

GET THEM ON YOUR SIDE .

“If you don’t want to seem like a slacker but you don’t want to work all weekend, ask your boss to help you prioritize,” says Vermunt of her “help me help you” strategy. Tell him or her “Since I have a lot of important projects but only so much time, what would you like me to prioritize?”

FOLLOW THROUGH.

If you say you’re going to do—or not do— something, stick by it, says Vermunt. “You can’t just set boundaries—you have to maintain them, which means staying strong when you get a little pushback.”