Configurations of Boundary Management Practices among Knowledge Workers

Stefanie C Reissner, Michal Izak and Donald Hislop
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Stefanie C Reissner: Newcastle University Business School, UK
Michal Izak: University of Roehampton Business School, UK
Donald Hislop: University of Aberdeen Business School, UK

Work, Employment & Society, 2021, vol. 35, issue 2, 296-315

Abstract: While the literature in relation to managing the work-nonwork boundary retains a strong focus on the consistent use of segmenting or integrating boundary management practices, recent studies indicate that individuals’ behaviours are often inconsistent. To add to this emerging strand of research, this article is set in the context of flexible working to examine how knowledge workers use time, space and objects to demarcate the work-nonwork boundary. The analysis identifies three configurations of boundary management practices with differing degrees of inconsistency in the use of time, space and objects. Its contribution is three-fold: (1) it provides an original, systematic exploration of boundary management practices that do not represent consistency; (2) it creates a framework within which differing degrees of inconsistency in people’s boundary management practices can be observed; and (3) it demonstrates new and crucial differences between distinct inconsistent approaches to demarcating the work-nonwork boundary.

Keywords: boundary management; flexible working; knowledge workers; objects; space; time (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:35:y:2021:i:2:p:296-315

DOI: 10.1177/0950017020968375

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