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The article focuses on the impact of family-role overload on employees' career intentions, exploring the indirect effect through family-interferes-with-work (FIW). Topics include the relationship between family demands and career intentions, the role of boundary management in mitigating these effects, and the use of structural equation modeling to analyze the data.

The increase in mental ill-health amongst the working population presents a serious challenge for organisations. Line-managers are an important provider of support to staff with psychological distress (PD), their experiences however, are under-researched. In response, we interviewed 15 line-managers from the private, public, and voluntary sector about their support provision to subordinates with PD. Drawing upon workplace social support and boundary management theory we explored line-manager confidence, boundaries of the manager/subordinate relationship, and how they navigate the competing demands of their role. We found that organisational psychosocial climate and context are key factors: a stressful or demanding working environment, and/or unsupportive colleagues can undermine the capacity of line-managers to provide social support. Theoretical contributions include focusing on the provider, rather than recipient, of social support and integrating social support and boundary management theory. Practical recommendations include removing the onus on line-managers to provide support and advocating shared organisational responsibility for support from multiple sources, underpinned by a wider remit of policies and procedures. This paper includes line-manager narratives around employee mental ill-health including reference to suicide, that some readers may find distressing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of home‐based teleworking and the ageing of the workforce constitute two major trends impacting the future of work. Managing these trends well requires a good understanding of how worker age and telework intersect and which mechanisms link age and telework outcomes. We integrated perspectives of boundary theory and the lifespan model of selection, optimization, and compensation and investigated in two studies the relationship between employee age and two telework outcomes (work–life balance and unfinished tasks) as mediated by boundary management tactics aimed at segmenting work and nonwork roles. Across Study 1 (a two‐wave study with 172 teleworkers) and Study 2 (a three‐wave study with 282 teleworkers), we found positive associations between age and use of segmenting boundary management tactics during telework. We further identified indirect effects of age on higher productivity in terms of fewer unfinished tasks (both studies) and better work–life balance (Study 2) through boundary management tactics use. Robustness checks indicated that age effects remain significant after controlling for a number of demographic characteristics, work and home demands, motivational factors, and self‐regulatory skills. Findings suggest that older workers effectively navigate the blurred work‐nonwork boundaries in home‐based telework using self‐regulatory behaviour that supports positive telework outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working from home (WFH) has accelerated in occurrence following social distancing measures directed at stemming the spread of Covid-19 globally. Using a sample of 41 in-depth qualitative interviews and measurement of the personality scores of the 41 interviewees, who are UK academics, using the IPIP test questionnaire, we explored how mandatory WFH impacts the boundary management of different academics based on their personality and the role of personality in their boundary-management approach to enhance work-life balance (WLB) during Covid-19. Our results suggest that mandatory WFH impacts academics differently depending on their personality, with academics high in conscientiousness and introversion (compared to their neurotic and extroverted colleagues) more suited to managing work and life domains to maintain a WLB while working from home. Building on boundary theory, we uncovered that while conscientious and introverted academics preferred and used integration as their boundary-management style, extroverted academics preferred segmentation in favor of family, but used volleying as a boundary-management style. Neurotic academics leaned toward our newly uncovered boundary-management style – quitter. Our findings suggest that the family circumstances of academics play an important role in their boundary-management styles. Overall, our study suggests relationships between personality and boundary-management styles and characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geodesign supports collaborative urban planning by managing 'boundaries' between diverse knowledge holders. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence of its contribution to 'boundary work'. This paper aims to evaluate how a geodesign process facilitates knowledge co-production through boundary work and to assess the scientific credibility, political saliency, and procedural legitimacy of its outputs in urban planning. We propose a replicable geodesign framework to assess boundary work, and test it in a case study on urban transformations with nature-based solutions in the Skarpnäck district of Stockholm, Sweden. Findings indicate that all geodesign steps facilitated communication by promoting collective reasoning. Participants acknowledged contributions to knowledge co-production and decision-making by mediating between different perspectives. However, data quality and modeling simplicity were identified as critical factors affecting the outputs' perceived credibility. Future applications should include co-designing the geodesign process, improving capacity and skills, and facilitating more integrated planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes face-to-display workers' environments and investigates how their habits affect both brick-and-mortar and virtual workplaces. A qualitative study with 20 respondents using a photovoice strategy via snowball sampling was employed. The study aims to shed more light on some of the factors associated with the e-workplace environment. All respondents stated that work cannot be done efficiently and effectively without a comfortable workspace. Data demonstrate that the blurring of the distinction between home and office as a workspace has undeniably accelerated recently. Results show that workanywhere technologies have empowered e-workers to be highly productive. For some, the balance between family and work has been a challenge. Males and females proceed completely differently when setting up home offices. Employees see ICT as an enabler and motivator for productivity; however, selfcare is becoming a must when working remotely. For many, this is a new experience that they have to adjust to. The results obtained show similarities between brick-and-mortar and virtual workplaces and indicate that there is a process of "domestication," i.e., of moving selected features of the traditional workplace to the home office. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our mobile working world, boundaries between work and non‐work domains are more and more blurred, which can impair professionals' recovery and well‐being. Consequently, managing work–non‐work boundaries represents an important challenge for professionals. Research suggests that boundary work tactics conveyed in boundary management interventions may promote recovery and well‐being. However, the efficacy of boundary work tactics is largely unknown, as well as theoretical mechanisms that may explain the effectiveness of boundary management interventions in regard of both training design and training transfer. Building on the social cognitive theory of self‐regulation, we develop a web‐based boundary management training. Based on the integrated training transfer and effectiveness model, we evaluate its effects on the three levels of training effectiveness: (1) perceived learning, (2) cognitions and behaviours, with boundary control and boundary creation as indicators, and (3) recovery and well‐being. Results of our randomized controlled intervention study show several expected changes in boundary creation, suggesting that drawing on the social cognitive theory of self‐regulation for training design can result in effective behaviour change. Intervention effects on recovery and well‐being are more ambiguous, hinting at the power but likewise potential limitations of boundary creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of a turbulent era over the past 3 years, characterized by the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID‐19 pandemic, individuals have found themselves contending with the intersection of professional and personal responsibilities. The pursuit of luxury has given way to a collective nightmare, as work and family demands converged, each equally relentless and significant. Our paper focuses on the experiences of individuals who confronted and triumphed over these challenges. A sample of 368 professionals, predominantly working from home, was examined to explore the impact of high performance work systems and boundary management in a post‐pandemic landscape marked by blurred boundaries. Our findings support the notion that effective boundary management, encompassing the management of non‐work intruding on work and work encroaching on non‐work, significantly influences withdrawal behaviors. Our study reveals the importance of organizations fostering work practices that empower employees with the IT skills to navigate virtual technologies seamlessly. By doing so, organizations can enhance work‐life balance and mitigate withdrawal behaviors among their workforces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Management & Business Research (2521-4306) is the property of Chinese Management Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tijdschrift voor Arbeidsvraagstukken is the property of Amsterdam University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Psychological reattachment to work means mentally reconnecting with one's work before or upon returning to work in the morning. Recent studies revealed its potential to boost daily work engagement, demonstrating its relevance to research and practice. Despite this, no studies have explored the components of psychological reattachment and why and how employees reattach to their work. Yet, to expand the theoretical understanding of psychological reattachment and to apply its potential in practice, it is crucial to dive deeper into the details around this process. Therefore, this study employs a qualitative approach to test existing theoretical assumptions on psychological reattachment, uncover additional manifestations of psychological reattachment, examine its unfolding process, and identify potential predictors, benefits, and drawbacks. Our methodological procedure comprises the multi-coding of qualitative material from 35 employees with diverse backgrounds. One of our main findings is that when anticipating upcoming demands during the workday, employees also anticipate how to meet those demands. Furthermore, the more demands are expected, the longer it takes employees to mentally reattach to their work. This hints at how psychological reattachment might resemble a preventive coping mechanism for job demands during the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: Making the transition between community work spaces (CWS) and home-based working (HBW) will typically pose a variety of challenges for the professionals involved. But effective management of different boundary types can help ensure the shift from one domain to another is successful. Originality/value: The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Increased working from home has imposed new challenges on public service employees, while also granting opportunities for job crafting. Grounding on the Job Demands-Resources model and Hobfoll’s Conservation of Resources theory this exploratory research aims to investigate the work-nonwork balance of employees one and a half years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the research focus lies on employees’ job crafting strategies to optimize their working from home experience concerning boundary management and energy resource management. Methods Twelve semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with public service employees from different sectors in Germany. The experiences were content analyzed using the software MaxQDA and inductive and deductive categories were derived. Results Boundary management comprised different strategies such as communicative (e.g., negotiating work time), physical (e.g., going to the garden), temporal (e.g., logging off in between the work day) and behavioral (e.g., prioritizing tasks) strategies. The job crafting strategies regarding energy management included preventing exhaustion (e.g. taking breaks), healthy cooking and energy management in case of sickness (e.g. deciding on sick leave). Conclusions This qualitative case study enriches research on job crafting by offering insights on boundary tactics and energy resources management strategies for remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results point out different starting points for employees and decision makers, how a work-nonwork balance, energy management and thus employees’ wellbeing may be increased when working from home in the future. Trial registration The study design and methodology were approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Cologne and the study was prospectively registered (Ref No. 21-1417_1).

This study aims to contribute to an analysis of the well-being of military personnel who are deployed on humanitarian aid missions, taking their work-family (personal life) boundary management into consideration by analyzing the relationship between their preferences and enacted boundaries and military personnel' well-being. Specifically, this study analyzed the boundary fit approach, positing that it is the adjustment between individuals' preferences and enacted boundaries that influences their well-being. Using a sample of 327 military personnel, boundary management profiles were performed, considering the fit between their segmentation preferences and enactment. Furthermore, the relationship between these profiles and the military personnel' well-being was established. The results indicated that misfit profiles were found where the soldiers enacted less segmentation than desired or, on the contrary, more integration than desired, and a profile with a fit between the work-family segmentation they desired and enacted. The military personnel in the fit profile had significantly higher levels of well-being (i.e.,less exhaustion and more work engagement) than those in the misfit profile, who enacted less segmentation than desired. The findings have implications for the design of boundary management literature and future military missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This inductive study of 44 consultants in a prominent consulting firm examines how consultants set work-life boundaries without getting stigmatized and how they develop their workplace relationships into sources of help for this process. Within this organization, dominated by the ideal worker norm, we found a hidden, self-sustaining network of consultants who delivered excellent work while violating the ideal worker norm without stigmatization. Their way of working was based on a coherent set of beliefs about work and the work-life interface we named the sustainable worker schema, which contrasted with the ideal worker schema in all ways except in the ultimate goals: high performance and excellent work. Essential to this way of working was not only effective management of boundaries between work and life outside of work (work-life boundaries) but also effective management of boundaries around each work task or project (work boundaries). Consultants who embraced the sustainable worker schema worked fewer hours and achieved higher satisfaction with work-life balance than their counterparts. Together, these findings highlight the importance of embracing the centrality of work in work-life research; underscore the power of invisibility when challenging the ideal worker norm; and paint a rich picture of boundary work as a network-level phenomenon. Funding: This work was supported by Simmons University [Diane K. Trust Chair in Leadership Development, President's Fund for Faculty Excellence] and University of Massachusetts Amherst [John F. Kennedy Faculty Fellowship]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abrupt transition to remote learning during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic created considerable work-life boundary challenges for college students. Grounded in boundary management theory, this study utilizes an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, incorporating both a survey and subsequent focus groups, to explore the dynamics of boundary permeability, communication, work-life conflict, and exhaustion. Both traditional and underrepresented students were included, highlighting the experiences of these distinct populations. Our findings underscore that underrepresented students are particularly susceptible to work-life conflicts and exhaustion, a realization that points towards the critical need for supportive interventions tailored to their specific needs. Furthermore, this research addresses the paucity of studies focusing on students in the boundary management literature and offers valuable insights into diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) research. By emphasizing the necessity of differentiating support strategies for diverse student populations, the study aids in formulating effective practices for institutions to enhance student well-being in the context of remote work and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increased working from home has imposed new challenges on public service employees, while also granting opportunities for job crafting. Grounding on the Job Demands-Resources model and Hobfoll's Conservation of Resources theory this exploratory research aims to investigate the work-nonwork balance of employees one and a half years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the research focus lies on employees' job crafting strategies to optimize their working from home experience concerning boundary management and energy resource management. Methods: Twelve semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with public service employees from different sectors in Germany. The experiences were content analyzed using the software MaxQDA and inductive and deductive categories were derived. Results: Boundary management comprised different strategies such as communicative (e.g., negotiating work time), physical (e.g., going to the garden), temporal (e.g., logging off in between the work day) and behavioral (e.g., prioritizing tasks) strategies. The job crafting strategies regarding energy management included preventing exhaustion (e.g. taking breaks), healthy cooking and energy management in case of sickness (e.g. deciding on sick leave). Conclusions: This qualitative case study enriches research on job crafting by offering insights on boundary tactics and energy resources management strategies for remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results point out different starting points for employees and decision makers, how a work-nonwork balance, energy management and thus employees' wellbeing may be increased when working from home in the future. Trial registration: The study design and methodology were approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Cologne and the study was prospectively registered (Ref No. 21-1417_1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instructional Boundary Management is an area of school leadership comprising activities that simultaneously involve instructional leadership and boundary management. This study explores principals' Instructional Boundary Management during COVID-19. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of 33 Israeli elementary school principals. Data analysis indicated that principals felt an increasing need to carry out most Instructional Boundary Management activities during COVID-19. The findings suggest that COVID-19 influenced principals' needs through the following three factors: the challenges that COVID-19 posed to teachers, the challenges that COVID-19 posed to students and parents, and the transition from face-to-face instruction to distance learning. These findings reveal the mechanisms through which COVID-19 affected Instructional Boundary Management activities, explaining how and why COVID-19 has led to a greater need for principals' Instructional Boundary Management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the use of digital devices to conduct tasks across work and non-work domains (i.e., boundary-crossing ICT use) grows rapidly. To gain an overview of this expanding field, we conducted a systematic search in 14 databases (e.g., WoS, PsycINFO) for studies examining the outcomes of performing 1) work-related tasks during non-work time and 2) non-work tasks during work time. After screening 17,388 abstracts, 398 were read in full text, and 159 publications were included. Most studies used cross-sectional interviews or self-report survey data of employees in high-income countries. The work-family interface, individual work and health outcomes were commonly studied, while family and organizational outcomes received little attention. Moreover, research with a multilevel perspective and studies examining objective outcomes (e.g., divorce, sick leave) were scarce and the performance of non-work tasks during work time was often ignored. Despite the burgeoning literature, there is an urgent need to arrive at a common conceptualization and operationalization of boundary-crossing ICT use to be able to compare findings across studies and disciplines. We suggest a new definition and future agenda to contribute to a deeper understanding of the field.

The targeted use of social robots for the family demands a better understanding of multiple stakeholders' privacy concerns, including those of parents and children. Through a co-learning workshop which introduced families to the functions and hypothetical use of social robots in the home, we present preliminary evidence from 6 families that exhibits how parents and children have different comfort levels with robots collecting and sharing information across different use contexts. Conversations and booklet answers reveal that parents adopted their child's decision in scenarios where they expect children to have more agency, such as in cases of homework completion or cleaning up toys, and when children proposed what their parents found to be acceptable reasoning for their decisions. Families expressed relief when they shared the same reasoning when coming to conclusive decisions, signifying an agreement of boundary management between the robot and the family. In cases where parents and children did not agree, they rejected a binary, either-or decision and opted for a third type of response, reflecting skepticism, uncertainty and/or compromise. Our work highlights the benefits of involving parents and children in child-and family-centered research, including parental abilities to provide cognitive scaffolding and personalize hypothetical scenarios for their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals' networks are multiplex—bundles of roles, interactions, and exchanges—in which the boundaries between work relationships and non-work relationships are often blurred, or integrated. Surprisingly, though, there is a paucity of research that explicitly integrates the work-nonwork literature and the social networks literature. In this paper, we advance theory on cross-domain multiplexity —multifaceted relationships that occupy a blended work–nonwork role space by superimposing work and nonwork interactions, roles, and exchanges. Specifically, we draw from work-family border theory to propose that cross-domain multiplex relationships represent a qualitatively unique form of multiplexity that involve distinct norms, drivers, and tensions. We advance the conversation around social network analytics and work-nonwork boundary research by presenting a theoretical model of cross-domain multiplex relationships that unpacks their components, as well as their unique antecedents, outcomes, and dynamics. We also review three methodological approaches that scholars can employ to analyze our propositions. Given recent theoretical and methodological advancements in both arenas, we propose that employing social network analytic methodology can inform how scholars theorize and design research around the work-nonwork interface, expand the methodological toolkit applied to these research questions, and resolve inconsistencies in whether multiplex relationships are enriching or depleting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surge of remote and hybrid work in the post-pandemic era has reinforced the blurred boundaries between work and nonwork responsibilities. Thus, how people manage the boundaries between work and nonwork domains has become more complicated. This study advances the work of previous studies on constant connectivity by focusing on how employees' perception of constant connectivity might actualize their boundary management behaviors. By adopting affordances for practice perspective, our study focused on contextual factors, including IT/internet policies, informal social norms, and work flexibility, to investigate how these factors could influence employees' perception of constant connectivity. This paper reports a two-phase study. In the first phase, we used sentiment analysis to rank 38 internet use policies of Australian universities, grading their strictness toward ICT/internet use. Next, building on the first phase, we interviewed 28 academics. We identified three perceptions of constant connectivity related to participants' practices, including constant connectivity as a resource for practice, a challenge for practice, and duality for practice. We also found five distinct boundary management behaviors connected to three different perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Mental health care needs have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Peer support workers (PSWs) and the organizations that employ them have strived to provide services to meet increasing needs. During pandemic lockdowns in Ontario, Canada, these services moved online and were provided by PSWs from their homes. There is paucity of research that examines how providing mental health support by employees working from home influences their work-life boundaries. This research closes the gap by examining experiences of work-life boundary challenges and boundary management strategies of PSWs. Methods A qualitative case study approach was adopted. Interviews with PSWs who held formal, paid positions in a peer support organization were conducted. Data was analyzed thematically using both inductive and deductive approaches. Descriptive coding that closely utilized participants’ words was followed by inferential coding that grouped related themes into conceptual categories informed by boundary theory. Member checking was conducted. Results PSWs provided accounts of work-life boundary challenges that we grouped into three categories: temporal (work schedule encroachments, continuous online presence), physical (minimal workspace segregation, co-presence of household members and pets) and task-related (intersecting work-home activities). Strategies used by PSWs to manage the boundaries consisted of segmenting the work-life domains by creating separate timescapes, spaces and tasks; and integrating domains by allowing some permeability between the areas of work and life. Conclusion The findings from this study can help inform management, practices, future research and policy on health care workforce. The study highlights the need to attend to the consequences of greater work-life integration for mental health workers since their successful practice is largely dependent on maintaining self-care. Training regarding work-life boundary management is highlighted as one of the ways to approach situations where work from home is required.

The targeted use of social robots for the family demands a better understanding of multiple stakeholders’ privacy concerns, including those of parents and children. Through a co-learning workshop which introduced families to the functions and hypothetical use of social robots in the home, we present preliminary evidence from 6 families that exhibits how parents and children have different comfort levels with robots collecting and sharing information across different use contexts. Conversations and booklet answers reveal that parents adopted their child’s decision in scenarios where they expect children to have more agency, such as in cases of homework completion or cleaning up toys, and when children proposed what their parents found to be acceptable reasoning for their decisions. Families expressed relief when they shared the same reasoning when coming to conclusive decisions, signifying an agreement of boundary management between the robot and the family. In cases where parents and children did not agree, they rejected a binary, either-or decision and opted for a third type of response, reflecting skepticism, uncertainty and/or compromise. Our work highlights the benefits of involving parents and children in child- and family-centered research, including parental abilities to provide cognitive scaffolding and personalize hypothetical scenarios for their children.

Introduction: Transformations in the work-nonwork interface highlight the importance of effectively managing the boundaries between life domains. However, do the ways individuals manage the boundaries between work and nonwork life change from one day to the next? If so, which antecedents may explain these intra-individual fluctuations in boundary management? Drawing on boundary management, spillover, and resource theories, we investigate daily changes in segmentation preferences and integration enactments as a function of experiencing strain in work and nonwork life. Assuming that changes in segmentation preferences reflect an individual's strategy to regulate negative cross-role spillover, we suppose that strain increases individuals' segmentation preferences; at the same time, however, it could force individuals to enact more integration. Methods: We test our assumptions with data from two studies with different methodological approaches. The first study uses a daily diary research design (Study 1, 425 participants with 3,238 daily observations) in which full-time professionals rated strain in work and nonwork life, segmentation preferences, and integration enactments every evening for 10 workdays. The second study uses an experimental vignette research design (Study 2, 181 participants), where we experimentally manipulated strain in work and nonwork life and investigated causal effects on participants' hypothetical segmentation preferences. Results: The results of multilevel modeling analyses in Study 1 show that segmentation preferences and integration enactments fluctuate from day to day as a function of strain. More specifically, strain is related to preferring more segmentation but enacting more integration. Study 2 replicates the results of Study 1, showing that strain causally affects segmentation preferences. Discussion: This two-study paper is one of the first to address daily fluctuations in segmentation preferences and integration enactments, extending our knowledge of temporal dynamics in boundary management. Furthermore, it demonstrates that strain is an antecedent of these daily fluctuations, offering starting points for practical interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing boundaries between students' work and study roles is crucial for success at university. Little research has examined the strategies used to manage these roles, the factors that relate to implementing them, and the outcomes associated with their use. Boundary management theory, an identity-based perspective, explains boundary management processes; yet, few studies have examined how identity affects the enactment of boundary strategies. We investigated the extent to which identity-based concepts (i.e., student role salience and future-self) were related to different types of boundary strategies (i.e., temporal and communicative), how these related to work-study balance, and, in turn, academic satisfaction. We tested our model on a sample of 266 working university students (MAge = 20.07 years, SD = 2.63; 74% women) and it accounted for 41% of the variance in academic satisfaction. Significant relationships were found among identity-based concepts, boundary strategies, work-study balance, and academic satisfaction, highlighting the importance of student identity and the use of temporal strategies in achieving greater work-study balance and academic satisfaction. Suggestions for how education providers can retain students who are struggling to manage work and study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work-Life Blending refers to the permeability and dissolution of boundaries between work and personal life, bringing these domains closer together. However, a comprehensive, holistic definition or conceptualisation of Work-Life-Blending is currently lacking. This research aims to address this gap by conducting a systematic literature review to define and clarify the concept. The primary objective is to identify the key factors and dimensions of Work-Life-Blending by reviewing the current state of research, and by offering a clear and precise conceptual framework to guide further research in developing measurable and concrete concepts. We conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines to achieve this, drawing on keyword-based searches. We searched for English or German manuscripts in the electronic databases Business Source Premier and PsycARTICLES, using keywords such as “blending,” “blurring,” “fusion,” “Entgrenzung,” “Verschmelzung,” “Vermischung,” “boundary,” “border,” or “demarcation” in combination with “work” and “life.” From 1,400 screened references between 2000 and 2023, we identified 302 eligible articles. After applying exclusion criteria, 51 records were retained. Employing a holistic approach, we developed a coding scheme to analyse the articles focusing on antecedents, processes, and outcomes of Work-Life-Blending. Articles were prioritized based on their impact, relevance, and data content. Our analysis revealed a diverse field, and we adopted Clark’s central concepts (2000) to categorize Work-Life Blending into four key areas: Domains, Borders, Individual, and Interindividual. Structural analysis allowed us to gain deeper insights into the multifaceted nature of the research field. Diversification was evident in studies exploring various aspects, such as the combination of dimensions (e.g., organizational and individual factors), correlations between factors (e.g., working conditions), and the introduction of new constructs (e.g., motivational processes). Our research addresses a significant knowledge gap in the field of Work-Life-Blending, making valuable contributions to the existing body of knowledge. By examining key categories and proposing an extended definition, this study provides a robust foundation for further investigations. As a result, we established a classification of the determinants. Given the high degree of diversification, we offer a comprehensive framework for future research, contributing to a deeper understanding of Work-Life Blending.

Despite growing research on boundary management through role transitions, there is still a lack of understanding of the strategies individuals use to achieve work‐family life balance, and there is little research on the relationship between role transitions and work‐family life balance. This article aims to determine the extent to which inter‐domain role transitions affect work‐family life balance using segmentation and integration preferences as mediating variables. To achieve this objective, we conducted an empirical study in which data were collected from a sample of 311 executives (directors) from Ecuadorian higher education institutions. Using structural equation modeling, the direction and strength of the proposed relationships were determined. Findings show that family domain integration preference and family domain segmentation preference mediate the relationship between family‐to‐work role transitions and work‐family life balance. On the other hand, work domain segmentation preference and work domain integration preference were found to have no mediating effect between work‐to‐family role transitions and work‐family life balance. The findings have practical implications for managing work and family life boundaries. This research contributes to a better understanding of the mediating effect played by segmentation and integration preferences between inter‐domain role transitions and work‐family life balance from an individual perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mental health care needs have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Peer support workers (PSWs) and the organizations that employ them have strived to provide services to meet increasing needs. During pandemic lockdowns in Ontario, Canada, these services moved online and were provided by PSWs from their homes. There is paucity of research that examines how providing mental health support by employees working from home influences their work-life boundaries. This research closes the gap by examining experiences of work-life boundary challenges and boundary management strategies of PSWs. Methods: A qualitative case study approach was adopted. Interviews with PSWs who held formal, paid positions in a peer support organization were conducted. Data was analyzed thematically using both inductive and deductive approaches. Descriptive coding that closely utilized participants' words was followed by inferential coding that grouped related themes into conceptual categories informed by boundary theory. Member checking was conducted. Results: PSWs provided accounts of work-life boundary challenges that we grouped into three categories: temporal (work schedule encroachments, continuous online presence), physical (minimal workspace segregation, co-presence of household members and pets) and task-related (intersecting work-home activities). Strategies used by PSWs to manage the boundaries consisted of segmenting the work-life domains by creating separate timescapes, spaces and tasks; and integrating domains by allowing some permeability between the areas of work and life. Conclusion: The findings from this study can help inform management, practices, future research and policy on health care workforce. The study highlights the need to attend to the consequences of greater work-life integration for mental health workers since their successful practice is largely dependent on maintaining self-care. Training regarding work-life boundary management is highlighted as one of the ways to approach situations where work from home is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionTransformations in the work–nonwork interface highlight the importance of effectively managing the boundaries between life domains. However, do the ways individuals manage the boundaries between work and nonwork life change from one day to the next? If so, which antecedents may explain these intra-individual fluctuations in boundary management? Drawing on boundary management, spillover, and resource theories, we investigate daily changes in segmentation preferences and integration enactments as a function of experiencing strain in work and nonwork life. Assuming that changes in segmentation preferences reflect an individual’s strategy to regulate negative cross-role spillover, we suppose that strain increases individuals’ segmentation preferences; at the same time, however, it could force individuals to enact more integration.MethodsWe test our assumptions with data from two studies with different methodological approaches. The first study uses a daily diary research design (Study 1, 425 participants with 3,238 daily observations) in which full-time professionals rated strain in work and nonwork life, segmentation preferences, and integration enactments every evening for 10 workdays. The second study uses an experimental vignette research design (Study 2, 181 participants), where we experimentally manipulated strain in work and nonwork life and investigated causal effects on participants’ hypothetical segmentation preferences.ResultsThe results of multilevel modeling analyses in Study 1 show that segmentation preferences and integration enactments fluctuate from day to day as a function of strain. More specifically, strain is related to preferring more segmentation but enacting more integration. Study 2 replicates the results of Study 1, showing that strain causally affects segmentation preferences.DiscussionThis two-study paper is one of the first to address daily fluctuations in segmentation preferences and integration enactments, extending our knowledge of temporal dynamics in boundary management. Furthermore, it demonstrates that strain is an antecedent of these daily fluctuations, offering starting points for practical interventions.

Global workers have long contended with the challenges of working across geographical, temporal, and cultural boundaries enabled by communication technologies. However, the global work research has rarely intersected with the literature on work–home boundary management—which has been brought to the forefront due to the forced move to remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on a qualitative field study of 55 in-depth interviews with global workers from a large organization headquartered in the Nordics, we found that global workers drew on sociomaterial affordances to manage both global work and work–home boundaries through strategies of boundary support and boundary collapse. Although the shift to remote work created challenges due to boundary collapse, it presented new spatiotemporal affordances that led to unexpected benefits for both global work and work–life boundary management. The findings have implications for global work, remote work, and the future of work more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does boundary management (BM) preference influence the effectiveness of work–nonwork policies? Drawing on BM and person–environment fit theory, we examine the effects of off-hours work-related communication restriction on policy satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement. We suggest a moderated mediation model, assuming that the interaction between communication restriction and BM preference predicts perceived BM fit, positively affecting the outcomes. We investigated this assumption using an experimental vignette study (Study 1, N = 257) and a correlational study (Study 2, N = 239). The findings of both studies show moderated indirect effects of the work–nonwork policy on policy satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement (only investigated in Study 2) via perceived BM fit and conditional on BM preference. Specifically, restricting work-related communication only benefits employees preferring low levels of integration. Contrarily, employees who prefer high levels of integration do not benefit from the policy. Due to using two studies with different methodological approaches, these findings rest on data with high internal and external validity. In particular, the experimental method in Study 1 allows for causal inferences on the effects of communication restriction, supporting the literature on BM fit and offering practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: High levels of online media use and permanent connectedness are common features of contemporary life in the developed world. In recent studies, the concept of online vigilance has been adopted to describe individuals’ chronic attentional orientation towards and engagement with their online spheres. The present study extends this notion by investigating its role in relation to stress and boundary management. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 299 knowledge workers completed an online survey concerning the role of cross-domain online vigilance in the blurring of work-personal boundaries and the potential impact this may have on perceived stress. Findings/results: Contrary to extant evidence, the findings of this study indicate that cross-domain online vigilance does not predict stress, neither on its own nor when interacting with individuals’ domain segmentation preferences. However, the findings indicate that younger knowledge workers, more than their older colleagues, have trouble disconnecting from their personal online spheres while working. Practical implications: Work communication policies and norms should enable workers to psychologically disconnect from work during non-working hours and should be sensitive to the differences in personal preferences for boundary segmentation. Constant psychological connection to personal online communication may impact performance among younger knowledge workers. Originality/value: The present study is the first to consider the notion of online vigilance in relation to boundary management and stress among knowledge workers. The findings are particularly relevant given the increased blurring of work-personal boundaries that results from organisations adopting work-from-anywhere policies following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The complex lives of women have made role management a challenge because, in addition to holding down time-consuming jobs, women are responsible for family management. The objective of this study is to identify the tactics used by women during the post-maternity-leave period to reconcile conflicting role-related demands when the women return to work. Through a qualitative investigation that included 28 in-depth interviews and content analysis, ten tactics were identified. All interviewees are Brazilian, and data were collected between March 2021 and January 2022. The maternity leave of all interviewees lasted 120 days, which is a standard period in Brazil. Our results represent an advance in what is known in terms of the experience of women negotiating their roles during the post-maternity-leave period. To cope with challenges related to overlapping role demands, women assume an active stance and apply integration and segmentation to their roles while executing them at different times of the day or simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communicating work issues at home and home issues at work, also known as across-the-border (ATB) communication, is a part of everyday work and family interaction. This study focuses on the concept of ATB communication, using Work/Family Border Theory, according to which the boundaries between work and private life are seen as negotiated and shaped through social interactions and practices. We argue that through ATB communication, and especially by focusing on what is shared and how, employees can manage boundaries and achieve work-life balance. Altogether, 32 informants, comprising journalists (N = 16) and their relational others (N = 16), were interviewed to investigate the role of ATB communication in employees' work-life boundary management. The findings show that ATB communication entails discussions about responsibilities in different life domains and a search for support in demanding or complex work or private life situations. One feature of boundary management involves refraining from ATB communication in order to achieve a balance between work and life. The study extends existing knowledge of boundary management as a communicative process and offers important practical implications by highlighting the role of interpersonal relationships in boundary management practices and the quality of ATB communication in these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necessity to actively manage the work–home boundaries has drastically increased. We postulate that work–home integration may affect individuals' subjective career success via its positive effects on work goal attainment and exhaustion. Furthermore, we study perceived supervisor expectation for employee work–home integration as a boundary condition. Our three‐wave online survey with 371 employees showed support for the two hypothesized moderated mediation effects. Work–home integration preference is indirectly related to subjective career success: (1) positively via home‐to‐work transitions and work goal attainment and (2) negatively via home‐to‐work transitions and exhaustion. Perceived supervisor expectation constrained work–home integration preference's direct effect on home‐to‐work transitions and indirect effects on subjective career success. Exploratory analysis revealed that exhaustion negatively affected all career success dimensions, whereas work goal attainment was only related to some. Our results indicate that supervisor expectation can override the effect of employee's work–home integration preference on home‐to‐work transitions which have a double‐edged sword effect on subjective career success. Our study contributes to integrating the careers and work–life interface literature and incorporating contextual factors. Furthermore, with the exploration of differential effects on subjective career success, we advance our understanding of this outcome's nomological network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]