Having the workplace at home: A case study exploring the boundaries between work & home during the pandemic period

Abstract

Think about a morning walk before starting the working day, the number of calendars, the frequency of breaks or the clothes people wear to work; these among others are dimensions of where individuals draw the line between work and private life. Often small items, things people say, actions they take and places they restrict their professional selves are some of the activities individuals engage daily creating a mental, spatial and behavioural boundary between home and work. In this study, 27 respondents employed by a large corporation were interviewed about their boundary work after having experienced a sudden move of their workplace at home under the eventful year of 2020 with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, this case study explores and examines the different types of boundary activities the respondents were engaging in and how those boundaries changed based on the unforeseen situation of having to work from home. The report contributes to previous studies by adding to our knowledge of how work-home boundaries are set and managed to fit the respondents' needs to adjust to the new working situation and can also provide recommendations of how line managers can improve when managing people at a distance.