Summary of the research:
The boundaries that we set, dissolve, blur and manage between work, home and play are how office workers juggle and deal with, the changing demands of both professional and personal tasks. Every worker has a boundary strategy that is unique to them and entirely dependent on personal preferences, individual circumstances, working styles, the expectations of others and specific work culture.
Home and hobbies can be time and labour-intensive, and require as much professional management as paid work. Home life can be as intrusive of work as work can be of home life. Boundaries that are set in one direction are independent to the boundaries set in the reverse direction.
The setting of boundaries is not limited to geographic location, time of day, technology ownership or application used, but can also include mindset, identities, ambitions, social practices and cognitive practices.
There is a continuum of boundary-setting strategies from ‘segmentation’ to ‘integration’ of work and home life. Everyone has a different interpretation of what the words and resulting actions mean to them.
Boundary strategies can either be a resource or a constraint. They can change and be adapted depending on life stage and lifestyle adjustments. Although a life stage is not a precursor that dictates the type of strategy we implement e.g. working parents can either be strong segmenters, or strong integrators as can single people, young or more mature workers.
Those whose work is closely tied to their core life passions view additional reading and work-type tasks as professional development or self-improvement. In contrast, others (a portion of whom may regard work as a means to an end) view having to engage in work-related tasks during personal time as eating into their recovery time or as unpaid work and time away from their family or hobbies.
Digital technology is a mediator of both boundary setting and blurring.
For some, being able to check emails and messages after hours can be a ‘lifeline’ to manage their workload – giving them a sense of control or to ‘signal availability’ when away from the office.
For others, access to emails outside of working hours is an interference. They use various tactics to fence off work from private time. These can range from:
- technology-based solutions – such as leaving laptops and mobiles in a car boot overnight or setting out-of-office messages – to
- person-based solutions – such as informing others of availability patterns and when to expect a response.
