My manager keeps piling on projects and I'm already working until 8 or 9pm most nights. I have a family that needs me home. I know if I push back too hard I'm going to get passed over for promotions but I'm burning out. Anyone figured out how to set boundaries without looking like you don't care about your job? Need advice.
Working til 8 or 9 most nights is rough. You've gotta have that conversation about capacity before you burn out completely. Your career will survive saying no once in a while.
I've been there. What helped me was being specific with my boss about what I can actually finish vs what gets pushed. Some projects are real, some are just noise.
Your family needs you home way more than your boss needs you drowning in projects. Frame it as needing to reset your workload, not as you slacking off.
This is the exact situation I was in last year. I started tracking my hours and showed my boss what a typical week looked like. The visual helped way more than just saying 'I'm overwhelmed.' Made a case for prioritizing instead of doing everything. Might be worth a try.
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Working until 8 or 9 is insane. That's stealing time from your family. I learned the hard way that saying 'no' actually makes you more valuable, not less. Your boss needs you functional, not burned out.
You're worried about tanking your career but burning yourself out will tank it faster. I had to learn that the hard way. Your manager will respect a boundary way more than you think.