Boundary management and recovery when working from home: The moderating roles of segmentation preference and availability demands

Abstract

Blurred work–home boundaries can hamper teleworkers’ recovery from job demands. In this study, we investigate teleworkers’ temporal, physical, communicative, and technological boundary tactics as predictors of recovery experiences (i.e. psychological detachment and control during leisure time) and recovery outcomes (i.e. exhaustion). We hypothesized that individuals’ work–home segmentation preference as a personal factor and availability demands as a situational factor should moderate the relations between boundary tactics and recovery. Using a web-based survey, we collected data from 274 individuals who mainly worked from home in a lockdown period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the use of temporal boundary tactics was positively associated with psychological detachment, control, and lower exhaustion. The use of technological boundary tactics was related to higher psychological detachment. Our moderator hypotheses were partly confirmed: Segmentation preference and availability demands strengthened the relationships between several boundary tactics and psychological detachment, control, and exhaustion. In sum, our study contributes to a better understanding of teleworkers’ recovery processes and provides actionable knowledge for teleworkers on how to enable and sustain their recovery.