Work from home: understanding boundary management profiles using boundary-fit perspective

Purpose The recent COVID-19 pandemic has (triggered) lots of interest in work from home (WFH) practices. Many organizations in India are changing their work practices and adopting new models of getting the work done. The purpose of the study to look at the boundary-fit perspective (Ammons (2013) and two factors, namely, individual preferences (boundary control, family identity, work identity and technology stress) and environmental factors (job control, supervisor support and organizational policies). These dimensions are used and considered to create various clusters for employees working from home. Design/methodology/approach K-mean clustering was used to do the cluster analysis. Statistical package for social sciences 23 was used to explore different clusters based on a pattern of characteristics unique to that cluster, but each cluster differed from other clusters. Further analysis of variance test was conducted to see how these clusters differ across three chosen outcomes, namely, work-family conflict, boundary management tactics used and positive family-to-work spillover effect. The post hoc test also provided insights on how each cluster differs from others on these outcomes. Findings The results indicated four distinct clusters named boundary-fit family guardians, work warriors, boundary-fit fusion lovers and dividers consistent (with previous) research. These clusters also differ across at least two major outcomes like boundary management tactics and positive spillover. The high control cluster profiles like Cluster 3 (boundary-fit fusion lovers) and Cluster 4 (dividers) showed low technostress and higher use of boundary management tactics. Cluster 3 (boundary-fit fusion lovers) and Cluster 1 (boundary-fit family guardians) having high environmental influencers also showed higher positive family-to-work spillover. Research limitations/implications Because this study is very specific to the Indian context, a broad generalization requires further exploration in other cultural contexts. The absence of this exploration is one of the limitations of this study. On the culture continuum, countries may vary from being individualistic on one extreme to being collectivistic on the other extreme. Interaction of these two cultural extremities with the individual and the environmental dimension, as espoused in this research, can be examined further in a different cultural setting. Originality/value This study has extended the work of Ammons (2013) and added external influencers as a dimension to the individual preferences given by (Kossek 2016), and created the cluster for employees in the Indian context. This study has demonstrated the importance of reduced technostress, and the use of boundary management tactics (temporal and behavioral) leads to positive family-to-work spillover. It has also emphasized the relevance of organization policies and supervisor support for better outcomes in WFH.

How Do Caregiving Responsibilities Affect Women’s Work–Family Spillovers Over the Life Course?

Using three waves of data from the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS 1995–2014, N =1,123), this study investigates the linkage between caregiving and women’s positive and negative work–family spillovers over the life course. Results show that women’s work–family experiences are not only shaped by caregiving itself but also depend on the timing when they take these roles: the effect of raising school-aged children on negative family-to-work spillover (FWS) is the highest in the 40s, and the effect of raising adolescent children on positive work-to-family spillover (WFS) is the lowest in the 50s. Providing financial support to parents increases both negative FWS and negative WFS, and the effects are highest in their 20s and 65+, respectively. Providing emotional care and unpaid assistance to parents can enhance women’s positive FWS in their 40s. This study’s findings suggest that timing and linked-lives both play strong roles in shaping women’s work–family experiences.

Work-Family Spillover and Family Functioning in Married Working Women

The present study aimed to ascertain the relationship between work-family spillover and family functioning in married working women. It was hypothesized that family functioning will be negatively related with negative dimensions of family-to-wok and work-to-family spillover. A positive relationship was assumed between family functioning and positive dimensions of family-to-work and work-to- family spillover in married working women. A sample comprised of 150 married working women with the age range from 25-50 years (M = 37.3, SD = 8.92) from colleges, universities and hospitals was included. General Functioning Scale of Family Assessment Device (Epstein, Baldwin, & Bishop, 1983) and Work Family Spillover (Grzywacz & Marks, 2000) were translated into Urdu language. Results revealed a significant negative relationship of family functioning with negative dimensions of family-to-work and work-to- family spillover while family functioning was positively related with positive dimensions of family-to-work and work-to- family spillover. Family-to-work and work-to-family spillover significantly predicted family functioning. Work-to-family spillover was significantly higher in working women than family-to-work spillover. The results were discussed in the light of previous literature and theoretical and cultural background.

Influences of Work and Family Spillover on Filial and Sandwiched Caregivers’ Psychological Well-Being

There has been a documented increase in the numbers of filial and sandwiched caregivers in the United States. However, past studies have overlooked the impact of work and family overload on caregiver well-being. This study investigates the moderating influences of the quality and directionality of work and family spillover on the well-being (e.g., positive affect and negative affect, psychological well-being, and global well-being) of 180 filial and sandwiched caregivers from the second wave of the Midlife in the United States Survey. Regression and moderation analyses revealed that sandwiched caregivers with high levels of negative work-to-family spillover exhibited higher negative affect than the comparison groups. Sandwiched caregivers with high levels of negative family-to-work spillover exhibited higher level of negative affect and lower level of self-acceptance than other caregivers. These findings can help create work programs that address spillover between work and home in the effort to promote caregiver well-being.