How HR leaders can stop working until 10 PM during year-end (without everything falling apart)

When was the last time you exercised? Or saw your good friends? Or made it home in time for your son's bath time?

If you're an HR professional in the thick of year-end process, it's probably been a long time.

This is the time of year when schedules go out the window for HR professionals. I should know. I used to be one.

In fact, I was in Hong Kong last week and tried to organize a drinks gathering as a soft launch of the Women in HR community (Hong Kong chapter). Of the 20 or so HR women that I invited, about half of them said they were too busy to come because of year-end - calibration meetings, late-night calls, promotions discussions and so on. It was impossible for them to get away from their desks.

Honestly, I should have known that and I was pretty embarrassed that I hadn't realized it sooner. Not that long ago, I was that HR Business Partner! I was so caught up in my own excitement about being in Hong Kong and seeing everyone that I forgot about the key priority for this time of year for HR professionals: year-end process!

You know you should set boundaries. You've probably advised other leaders to do exactly that. But when it comes to your own workload, saying no feels impossible. After all, you're HR. You're supposed to support everyone else.

This is the trap so many senior HR leaders fall into during year-end. You prioritize everyone else's needs while your own boundaries crumble. You work through lunch, skip breaks, and answer emails at 10 PM because "everything is on fire." You tell yourself you'll rest in January, but by then, you're already depleted.

It doesn't have to be this way.

The permission you need

Let's start with something important: You are not a superhero. You're a professional with limits, and those limits are there for a reason. Setting boundaries during year-end isn't selfish. It's strategic. When you protect your time and energy, you show up better for the work that actually matters.

The challenge is that HR leaders often see themselves as supporting functions. We block time in our calendars for the business, but struggle to do the same for ourselves. We give up our time more easily than other departments because we've internalized the idea that our role is to serve.

But you can support your business AND protect your boundaries. In fact, the best HR leaders do both.

Communication boundaries: Managing expectations

As I often say, it all comes down to managing expectations. This means being transparent about your capacity and timeline, especially during peak periods. If your business stakeholders know that up-front it can make things a lot easier for you.

• Auto-replies - Consider setting up an auto-reply that acknowledges the volume of requests you're managing and provides a realistic timeline for responses. For example: "Given the year-end processes underway, my response time may be 24-36 hours. For urgent matters, please contact [backup person]."

• Is it really urgent? - Not everything labelled "urgent" is actually time-sensitive. When someone asks for something "ASAP," take a moment to understand the true deadline and the impact of waiting.

• Authentic boundary-setting - Let your stakeholders know what really matters to you professionally and personally. This vulnerability builds trust and often results in more realistic expectations.

• Do not disturb – Use the “do not disturb” feature on your messaging app to indicate you are not available. You could even consider turning off the notifications on your device – or even deleting the app altogether for a short period of time to give yourself a break (gasp! Horror! Yes, it can be done!).

Time and focus boundaries: Protecting deep work

Beyond managing communication, you need to protect blocks of time for focused work. This is where many HR leaders struggle the most.

• Scheduled focus blocks - Block specific time in your calendar for non-negotiable work. Make these blocks as specific as possible. Instead of "focus time," label it with the actual task: "Weekly report for CFO" or "Compensation analysis." This specificity makes it harder for others (and yourself) to deprioritize.

• Building in buffer time. If you're back-to-back in meetings all day, you're setting yourself up for overwhelm. Work with your admin or manage your own calendar to ensure 10-15 minute gaps between meetings. These buffers give you time to breathe, make notes, and transition between contexts.

• Monotasking over multitasking. Research consistently shows that multitasking reduces productivity and increases stress. When you're working on year-end reports, close your email. When you're in a meeting, don't try to respond to Slack messages. Focus on one thing at a time. You'll finish faster and produce better work.

• Creating physical boundaries. If you work in an office, sometimes you need a physical signal that you're not available. Wearing headphones (even if you're not listening to anything) or booking a quiet room can help manage interruptions.

What happens when you don't set boundaries

Take the example of my client Rita. She had been the HR lead at an international school for 8 years when she started feeling stuck. She'd proven herself beyond the administrative work she started with, but as a perfectionist with a strong work ethic and deep sense of loyalty, she found herself working longer hours than even the teachers. She was regularly working nights and evenings, taking on work that didn't really fall under HR's remit.

All of this contributed to self-doubt and questioning of her abilities. Was she working too hard for too little? The problem wasn't her competence. It was her boundaries.

Through coaching, Rita worked to establish boundaries that allowed her to stop working nights and evenings. She created space to pursue personal interests and build her life outside of the office. She learned to speak up with confidence, push back on last-minute requests, and let go of things that weren't important. Rita didn't just get her time back. She got her life back.

Mindset shifts: Changing how you think about boundaries

The reality is that these tactics only work if you address the underlying beliefs that make boundary-setting difficult in the first place.

• You're not abandoning your business - Setting boundaries doesn't mean you're neglecting your responsibilities. It means you're being strategic about where you invest your limited time and energy.

• Self-compassion is not optional - You would never expect a direct report to work 14-hour days for weeks on end without rest. Why do you hold yourself to a different standard? Treat yourself with that same compassion.

• Your ecosystem needs to know your limits - Whether it's your boss, your team, or your stakeholders, the people around you can't support you if they don't know what you need. Be transparent about your capacity and your boundaries.

Practical tactics to try this week

If you're in the thick of year-end chaos right now, here are a few things you can implement immediately:

• Turn on Do Not Disturb mode for the first 90 minutes of your workday

• Set up an auto-reply that manages expectations about response times

• Block two hours in your calendar this week with a specific task label

• Identify one meeting you can decline or delegate

• Practice monotasking: Close your email while working on one important project

• When someone says "urgent," ask: "What happens if we wait 24 hours?"

• Tell your team or your boss one specific way they can support you this month

  
  

The truth about year-end

Year-end is demanding. There's no way around that. But you get to decide how you show up during this season. You can choose to be the person who's always available, always responsive, always saying yes. Or you can choose to be strategic and focused on the work that matters most.

The second option requires practice. It requires saying no more often than feels comfortable. It requires letting some emails sit in your inbox longer than you'd like. It requires asking for help and being honest about your limits.

But it also means you'll finish year-end with your energy intact, your relationships protected, and your sanity preserved.

You're not a superhero. You’re not a firefighter. You’re not an ER nurse.

You're a professional doing demanding work during a demanding season. Give yourself permission to set boundaries. Your business will survive. And you'll be better for it.

If you're struggling to set boundaries or feeling overwhelmed by year-end demands, let's talk. Sometimes you need an outside perspective to see what you can't see yourself. Book a confidential call and let's figure out a strategy that works for you.

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I work with female senior leaders in Human Resources who feel stuck to help them love their work or find work they love. I write about:

👂 Executive & career coaching

📄 Career development and career transition

🎯 Job search strategy

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