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Managing collapsed bounda ies in global wo k
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Si unen, Anu; Gibbs, Jenni e L; Leppäkumpu, Jonna
Si unen, A., Gibbs, J. L., & Leppäkumpu, J. (2023). Managing collapsed bounda ies in global
wo k. Jou nal o Compu e -Media ed Communica ion, 28(4), A icle zmad019.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1093/jcmc/zmad019
2023
Managing collapsed bounda ies in global wo k
Anu Si unen
1,
*, Jenni e L. Gibbs
2
, Jonna Leppa¨kumpu
1
1
Depa men o Language and Communica ion S udies, Uni e si y o Jy a¨skyla¨, Jy a¨skyla¨, Finland
2
Depa men o Communica ion, Uni e si y o Cali o nia, San a Ba ba a, San a Ba ba a, USA
*Co esponding au ho : Anu Si unen. Email: [email p o ec ed]
Abs ac
Global wo ke s ha e long con ended wi h he challenges o wo king ac oss geog aphical, empo al, and cul u al bounda ies enabled by communi-
ca ion echnologies. Howe e , he global wo k esea ch has a ely in e sec ed wi h he li e a u e on wo k–home bounda y managemen —which
has been b ough o he o e on due o he o ced mo e o emo e wo k du ing he Co id-19 pandemic. D awing on a quali a i e ield s udy o
55 in-dep h in e iews wi h global wo ke s om a la ge o ganiza ion headqua e ed in he No dics, we ound ha global wo ke s d ew on socio-
ma e ial a o dances o manage bo h global wo k and wo k–home bounda ies h ough s a egies o bounda y suppo and bounda y collapse.
Al hough he shi o emo e wo k c ea ed challenges due o bounda y collapse, i p esen ed new spa io empo al a o dances ha led o unex-
pec ed bene i s o bo h global wo k and wo k–li e bounda y managemen . The indings ha e implica ions o global wo k, emo e wo k, and he
u u e o wo k mo e b oadly.
Lay Summa y
In global o ganiza ions, wo ke s ace challenges ela ed o bounda y managemen as hey a e wo king ac oss geog aphical, empo al, and cul-
u al bounda ies enabled by communica ion echnologies. A he same ime, wo ke s need o manage bounda ies be ween hei wo k and home
li e o main ain wo k–li e balance. Howe e , he global wo k esea ch has a ely in e sec ed wi h he li e a u e on wo k–home bounda y manage-
men —which has been b ough o he o e on due o he o ced mo e o emo e wo k du ing he Co id-19 pandemic. We collec ed quali a i e
da a in a ield s udy h ough in-dep h in e iews wi h 55 global wo ke s om Eu ope, he Uni ed S a es, and Asia-Paci ic, all o whom wo ked o
a la ge o ganiza ion headqua e ed in he No dics. We ound ha socioma e ial a o dances ela ed o he possibili ies p o ided by di e en wo k-
spaces and echnologies enabled wo ke s o manage bo h global wo k and wo k–home bounda ies h ough s a egies o bounda y suppo and
bounda y collapse. Al hough he shi o emo e wo k c ea ed challenges o global wo ke s, i also p esen ed new a o dances ha led o unex-
pec ed bene i s o bo h global wo k and wo k–li e bounda y managemen . The indings ha e implica ions o global wo k, emo e wo k, and he
u u e o wo k mo e b oadly.
Keywo ds: a o dances, bounda y managemen , communica ion echnology, global wo k, emo e wo k, o ice space
Wo king in oday’s global en i onmen is inc easingly cha -
ac e ized by he need o connec i i y bo h wi hin and be-
yond he no mal wo kday (Li io, 2017;Nu mi & Hinds,
2020). Global wo k—wo k accomplished ac oss coun ies
h ough global eams, ou sou cing, o o he dis ibu ed
wo k a angemen s—aims o imp o e o ganiza ional inno-
a ion and collabo a ion h ough in eg a ing di e se knowl-
edge and expe ise om dispa a e pa s o he o ganiza ion
(S ahl e al., 2010). Wo king ac oss geog aphical, empo al,
and cul u al bounda ies has been ound o c ea e ensions
o wo ke s (Gibbs, 2009), who a e mo e likely o ace
p essu es o communica e wi h colleagues a e hou s o ac-
commoda e ime zone di e ences (Nu mi & Hinds, 2020;
Van Zoonen e al., 2021). Managing bounda ies is impo -
an o conduc ing global wo k and has implica ions o
wo k–li e balance (Ma uyama e al., 2009), as e en minimal
ime di e ences can c ea e empo al cons ain s (Si unen
e al., 2016).
Managemen o global wo k bounda ies is enabled by com-
munica ion echnologies such as social media and mobile
de ices, which a o d new in e ac i i y and connec i i y
among geog aphically dispe sed wo ke s (Ellison e al.,
2015). In his s udy, we ocus on wo kplace communica ion
echnologies such as email, in ane s, online con e encing and
ins an messaging sys ems, mobile phones, and en e p ise
social media (Rice e al., 2017). Especially in global o ganiza-
ions, communica ion echnologies o en c ea e new expec a-
ions o cons an connec i i y (Nu mi & Hinds, 2020) ha
place addi ional demands on one’s ime and a en ion and can
be de imen al o wo ke s’ well-being.
The o ced mo e o emo e wo k o many wo ke s due o
he Co id-19 pandemic has b ough issues o wo k–li e con-
lic , bounda y managemen , and wo ke well-being o he
o e on and made hem e en mo e p essing. Howe e , he
global wo k esea ch has emained la gely sepa a e om
he wo k on bounda y managemen and well-being. As a e-
sul , esea ch has ye o conside how he connec i i y and
bounda y managemen beha io s o global wo ke s a e in lu-
enced by he new bounda y challenges imposed by wo k-
om-home (WFH) a angemen s and how di e en ypes o
bounda ies in e sec . We d aw upon a heo e ical amewo k
o bounda y a o dances, in eg a ing bounda y heo y
(Ash o h e al., 2000;Cla k, 2000) wi h he a o dances pe -
spec i e (E ans e al., 2017;T eem & Leona di, 2013) o in-
es iga e he socioma e ial a o dances ha global wo ke s
d aw on in hei global wo k and wo k–home bounda y man-
agemen s a egies du ing he Co id-19 pandemic. By in e-
g a ing hese di e se li e a u es, we use bounda y a o dances
as a sensi izing lens o in es iga e he ways in which bo h
echnological and spa io empo al a o dances shape global
Associa e Edi o s: Nancy Baym and Nicole Ellison
Recei ed: 1 Oc obe 2022. Re ised: 24 Feb ua y 2023. Accep ed: 11 Ap il 2023
V
CThe Au ho (s) 2023. Published by Ox o d Uni e si y P ess on behal o In e na ional Communica ion Associa ion.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which
pe mi s un es ic ed euse, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
Jou nal o Compu e -Media ed Communica ion,2023, 28(4), zmad019
h ps://doi.o g/10.1093/jcmc/zmad019
Full-leng h Resea ch A icle
Special Issue: Technology and he Fu u e o Wo k
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wo ke s’ communica ion s a egies o managing bo h global
wo k and wo k–home bounda ies.
We d aw on a ield s udy o a la ge global o ganiza ion
wi h headqua e s (HQ) in he No dics, consis ing o 55 in-
dep h in e iews wi h membe s o nine di e en global eams
loca ed ac oss Eu ope, he Uni ed S a es, and Asia-Paci ic.
Ou indings sugges ha while he o ganiza ional cul u e
wo ked in andem wi h echnological and spa io empo al
a o dances o e ec s ic bounda ies be ween wo k and pe -
sonal domains h ough speci ic bounda y suppo s a egies,
he shi o WFH a angemen s c ea ed changes in he spa io-
empo al a o dances ha p esen ed challenges as well as
unexpec ed bene i s o managing bo h global wo k and
wo k–home bounda ies h ough enabling se e al bounda y
collapse s a egies. This s udy helps ex end heo y on bo h
bounda y managemen and a o dances and has implica ions
o global wo k and he u u e o wo k mo e b oadly.
Li e a u e e iew
Bounda y managemen in global wo k
Global wo k is ypically ega ded as wo k conduc ed in a i-
ous o ices and wo ksi es ac oss he globe (Gibbs e al.,
2021b;Hinds e al., 2011;Nu mi & Hinds, 2020). Global
wo k sha es simila cha ac e is ics wi h o he “new ypes o
wo k” wi h a high deg ee o au onomy and lexibili y,
enabled by he de elopmen o communica ion echnologies
and cloud se ices (Scully-Russ & To aco, 2020, p. 69).
Howe e , e en hough global wo k is also o en knowledge-
in ensi e and au onomous, global wo ke s a e gene ally
o ice-based employees who di e om digi al nomads,
whose aim is o ejec ou wa dly imposed s uc u es o adi-
ional o ice wo k (Cook, 2020) and a emp o gain eedom
h ough mobili y (Thompson, 2019). Fu he , we ocus on
global knowledge wo ke s a he han mig an wo ke s,
whose wo k is o en hidden o in isible om publici y and
who a e wo king o lowe wages, longe hou s, and in wo se
condi ions (Choudha i, 2020).
The li e a u e on global eams and global wo k mo e
b oadly has ocused on he communica ion and collabo a ion
challenges elici ed by wo king ac oss na ional bo de s and
ime zones. These bounda ies ha e been de ined h ough con-
cep s such as i uali y (Gibson & Gibbs, 2006), which e e s
o changing wo k en i onmen s ha anscend bounda ies o
ime, space, o ganiza ion, and cul u e. I is impo an o no e
ha in and o hemsel es, bounda ies may o may no be
p oblema ic, and hey may e en p esen oppo uni ies o in-
no a ion (Wa son-Manheim e al., 2002). Geog aphical and
empo al bounda ies ha e, howe e , been ound o be dis up-
i e and c ea e di icul ies o knowledge sha ing ac oss loca-
ions (C am on e al., 2007;Wa son-Manheim e al., 2012)as
well as di icul ies o building us ing ela ionships wi h dis-
an colleagues due o he o ma ion o di isi e subg oups
and aul lines (C am on & Hinds, 2005;Gibbs e al., 2021a).
Language and cul u e ha e also been ound o c ea e di iding
lines in global wo k (Gibbs e al., 2021b;Hinds e al., 2014).
Bounda ies a e no always salien and no necessa ily pe -
cei ed as dis up ions i hey a e managed h ough s uc u es
ha p o ide con inui y and lead o sha ed expec a ions
a ound wo k p ac ices (Wa son-Manheim e al., 2012). Fo
ins ance, Gibson and Gibbs (2006) ound ha i uali y ea-
u es o geog aphical dispe sion, elec onic dependence,
na ional di e si y, and dynamic s uc u e we e all nega i ely
associa ed wi h eam inno a ion, bu ha hese ela ionships
we e mi iga ed by a psychologically sa e communica ion cli-
ma e, which allowed o eams o capi alize on hei di e en-
ces and be mo e inno a i e. O he suppo s o global wo k
include pe cei ed p oximi y (Wilson e al., 2008), eam iden i-
ica ion (Si unen, 2006), and eam communica ion p ac ices
ha engage eam membe s ac oss si es (Gibbs e al., 2021b).
This line o esea ch has gene ally ocused on o ice-based
wo ke s na iga ing bounda ies imposed by he global wo k
en i onmen .
Bounda y managemen in emo e wo k
A sepa a e line o esea ch has s udied challenges o na iga -
ing a di e en se o bounda ies: wo k–home bounda ies,
which occu a he in e ace be ween wo ke s’ pe sonal and
p o essional li es. Much o his wo k has been g ounded in
Bounda y Theo y (Ash o h e al., 2000), which a gues ha
people c ea e, main ain, o change bounda ies as a way o
classi y and simpli y he wo ld a ound hem. This pe spec i e
ecognizes ha he wo k–home in e ace is a socially con-
s uc ed bounda y be ween he wo k and home sphe es, and
ha main aining i in ol es a p ocess o bounda y nego ia ion
(K eine e al., 2009)o bounda y managemen . In his iew,
indi iduals a e ac i e agen s in he co-cons uc ion o bound-
a ies in in e ac ion wi h o he s, and bounda y managemen
in ol es nego ia ing expe iences, in e p e a ions, and he
shaping o bounda ies (Cla k, 2000;Nippe -Eng, 1995).
Thus, an indi idual’s wo k and home bounda y, i s ea u es,
and i s sha ed meanings a e managed h ough social in e ac-
ions and p ac ices be ween ac o s (K eine e al., 2009).
Fu he , Wo k/Family Bo de Theo y (Cla k, 2000) p o-
poses ha people make daily ansi ions be ween sepa a e
domains o wo k and home and s i e o a oid wo k/ amily
con lic and main ain a sense o balance. Bounda ies a e seen
as bo de s be ween di e en domains, nego ia ed in social in-
e ac ion (Cla k, 2000) and bounda y managemen o bound-
a y wo k (an o e lapping bu b oade e m ha desc ibes
how indi iduals cons uc , disman le, and main ain wo k–
home bounda ies; Nippe -Eng, 1995) can be de ined as a
p ocess o his nego ia ion (K eine e al., 2009). While he
Co id-19 pandemic has b ough wo k–home bounda y man-
agemen o he o e by no malizing emo e wo k, he concep
o home-based wo k is no new. The ea ly elewo k li e a u e
acknowledged he ensions aced by elewo ke s (Hylmo¨&
Buzzanell, 2002) and iden i ied s a egies used by elewo ke s
o calib a e he pe meabili y o wo k–home bounda ies
(Ellison, 2004).
Bounda y managemen h ough new
communica ion echnologies
While much o he bounda y managemen esea ch has no
explici ly aken communica ion echnology use in o conside -
a ion, a mo e ecen line o esea ch has u ned i s ocus o he
ole o communica ion echnology in c ea ing p essu es o
cons an connec i i y, due o he ubiqui y o mobile de ices
and media. Gi en ha mobile de ices such as sma phones al-
low o employees o expe ience being a ailable anywhe e
and any ime (Wajcman e al., 2008), his c ea es expec a ions
ha employees a e always a ailable o espond o wo k mes-
sages and emain cons an ly connec ed o wo k. Cons an
connec i i y has been ound o be nega i ely ela ed o
2Managing collapsed bounda ies
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employee’s well-being h ough diminished psychological de-
achmen (Bu¨chle e al., 2020) which e e s o he abili y o
men ally disengage om one’s wo k ou side wo king hou s.
On he one hand, his may lead o g ea e expe iences o s ess
and bu nou (Ba ley e al., 2011). On he o he hand, he
need o a e -hou s connec i i y in global wo k can also e-
duce exhaus ion by gi ing employees inc eased sense o au-
onomy and con ol o e when, whe e, and how hey wo k
(Van Zoonen e al., 2023).
While he a o dances o digi al media, and mobile de ices
in pa icula , may encou age g ea e connec i i y o wo k
ou side wo king hou s, esea ch is mixed on whe he such
communica ion echnologies se e o inc ease o ganiza ional
con ol by p essu ing employees o wo k mo e a home o
help hem educe wo k–home con lic h ough g ea e con ol
o e whe e and when hey wo k. Some esea ch inds ha
communica ion echnologies may also be used o bounda y-
se ing beha io o help manage ansi ions be ween wo k
and home ole domains and limi excessi e connec i i y
(Ma usik & Mickel, 2011). O ganiza ional no ms such as
expec a ions o a e -hou s connec i i y ha e also been
ound o play a key ole in employees’ bounda y con ol p ac-
ices (Piszczek, 2017).
S udying how wo ke s engage in bounda y managemen in
ligh o inc easing globaliza ion is impo an as he way
global wo k is ca ied ou has implica ions o he well-being
o employees (Schlach e e al., 2018). Blending he abo e li -
e a u es is impo an as he managemen o wo k and li e is
enabled and cons ained by he la ge o ganiza ional and cul-
u al con ex s in which wo ke s a e embedded. Missing om
he li e a u e is an in eg a ion o he a ious ypes o bound-
a ies (global wo k and wo k–home bounda ies) and mo e ex-
plici heo izing o he ole o communica ion echnologies in
bounda y wo k and he ypes o bounda y managemen s a -
egies hey a o d.
Theo e ical amewo k
P e ious esea ch has shown ha connec i i y ou side wo k-
ing hou s blu s he bounda ies be ween wo k and home and
can cause wo k–home con lic (e.g., De ks e al., 2016).
Employees in global o ganiza ions, howe e , a e o en e-
qui ed o be connec ed a e wo k hou s due o he need o
wo k ac oss ime zones (Li io, 2017) in ways ha a e condu-
ci e o bo h wo k and pe sonal li e (Sco , 2013). While com-
munica ion echnologies such as sma phones and social
media may c ea e p essu es o cons an connec i i y (Gibbs
e al., 2013), hei use is also condi ioned by social no ms in-
cluding he o ganiza ional cul u e and eam p ac ices. To ac-
coun o connec i i y p essu es a ising om he ma e ial
ea u es o he communica ion echnologies as well as he so-
cial no ms, pe cep ions, and goals ha global wo ke s b ing
o hei use, we adop a amewo k o socioma e ial a o dan-
ces (Faya d & Weeks, 2007;Gibson, 1979;T eem &
Leona di, 2013) o examine wha we e m bounda y a o -
dances, in pa icula .
Gibson (1979) ini ially de ined an a o dance as a possibil-
i y o ac ion, o explain why di e en species pe cei e objec s
in he na u al en i onmen di e en ly. This concep has be-
come a e ile heo e ical amewo k o schola s who a e
s udying he usage o new communica ion echnologies in o -
ganiza ional se ings (E ans e al., 2017;Rice e al., 2017).
A o dances ha e been heo ized as a ela ional concep in
which echnology use can be explained by a combina ion o
he ma e ial ea u es o he echnology and he subjec i e pe -
cep ions and goals o he use (T eem & Leona di, 2013). In
con as o esea ch ha ega ds a o dances as inhe en in
he design aspec s o an objec which in o m how i should be
used (No man, 1998), we apply a ela ional no ion o a o -
dances (Hu chby, 2001;T eem & Leona di, 2013) which ec-
ognizes ha “a o dances eme ge h ough di ec in e ac ion
wi h echnologies” (E ans e al., 2017, p. 37) and o he ma e-
ial ea u es.
A ich li e a u e has explo ed he a o dances o en e p ise
social media and o he communica ion echnologies o o ga-
niza ional p ocesses such as knowledge sha ing, sel -
p esen a ion, and eam lea ning (e.g., Ellison e al., 2015;
Gibbs e al., 2013;T eem & Leona di, 2013). While p io li -
e a u e has emphasized a o dances o communica ion ech-
nologies, we expand he no ion o include a o dances a ising
om he ma e ial (e.g., spa io empo al) en i onmen . As
such, we e e o socioma e ial a o dances (on socioma e ial-
i y, see e.g., Leona di, 2012), a he han echnological a o -
dances. In a o dances heo y, he a o dances o a (spa ial
o echnological) en i onmen can be summa ized as he
possibili ies o ac ion called o h o a pe cei ed subjec
(Faya d & Weeks, 2007). Thus, employees’ pe cep ions o
di e en socioma e ial ea u es—whe he g ounded in com-
munica ion echnologies o o ganiza ional spaces—call o h
a ious bounda y a o dances ha enable and cons ain
global wo ke s’ bounda y managemen p ac ices (see also
Si unen & Mye s, 2022).
In his s udy, we apply he a o dances lens o he s udy o
bounda y managemen in global wo k, wi h a ocus on
bounda y a o dances—which we de ine as possibili ies o
ac ion ha shape communica i e s a egies o managing
bo h global wo k and wo k–home bounda ies. We examine
he ole o socioma e ial a o dances in bounda y manage-
men and he ways in which global wo ke s manage bound-
a ies in bo h global wo k and wo k–home domains. This
leads o ou esea ch ques ions:
RQ1: How do global wo ke s manage bounda ies h ough
bounda y a o dances?
RQ2: How does he shi o emo e wo k shape he bound-
a y managemen s a egies o global wo ke s?
Me hods
Pa icipan s
This quali a i e s udy d aws om 55 in-dep h in e iews o
employees wo king in nine di e en global eams in a la ge
na u al esou ces company called NRG (pseudonym), head-
qua e ed in No he n Eu ope. The global company p o-
duced, p ocessed, and ma ke ed na u al esou ce p oduc s
and p o ided enginee ing se ices and p oduc ion echnolo-
gies o i s cus ome s. The company employed al oge he al-
mos 5,000 employees ac oss he globe. O e 75% o i s
employees we e whi e-colla wo ke s o senio manage s wi h
knowledge-in ensi e, highly au onomous jobs. The eams’
asks we e a ied, anging om inance o logis ics, ma ke -
ing, p ocu emen , and sus ainabili y de elopmen , and job
i les a ied om manage s o coo dina o s, specialis s, ana-
lys s, and con olle s. The eams we e geog aphically dis-
pe sed, wi h eam membe s loca ed in a ious coun ies in
Eu ope, he Uni ed S a es, and Asia-Paci ic. Thei o icial
wo king hou s we e 40 h pe week, ypically 8–4 p.m. o
Jou nal o Compu e -Media ed Communica ion (2023) 3
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9–5 p.m. The in e iewees ep esen ed a mix o unc ions and
uni s, age, gende , and company enu e. O he 55 pa ici-
pan s, 23 we e emale and 32 we e male and hei ages a ied
om 24 o 63 yea s. Thei a e age enu e in he o ganiza ion
was 3.6 yea s, wi h he sho es enu e being less han a yea
and he longes mo e han 40 yea s. Table 1 summa izes he
eam cha ac e is ics.
NRG’s o ganiza ional cul u e highly alued he au onomy
o wo ke s, as well as a balance be ween wo ke s’ p o es-
sional and pe sonal li es. Company policies imposed s ic
bounda ies be ween employees’ wo k hou s and pe sonal
ime, and e en hough NRG ope a ed globally wi h di e en
wo k ime egula ions in di e en si es, hese alues pe me-
a ed he o ganiza ional cul u e. In NRG’s sus ainabili y e-
po , he company espoused a commi men o lexible wo k
and emo e wo k wi h he goal o enhancing wo k–li e bal-
ance and well-being. Team membe s made ex ensi e use o
communica ion echnologies o ca y ou hei wo k. The
company had newly implemen ed a sui e o communica ion
echnologies consis ing o Google Wo kspace (email, ins an
messaging sys em, mee ing ools, sha ed iles) and an en e -
p ise social media pla o m o acili a e global connec i i y
and encou age mo e anspa en , collabo a i e wo k. Team
membe s communica ed wi h each o he in a a ie y o ways
h ough hese new communica ion echnologies as well as
h ough Wha sApp and phone calls.
Da a collec ion
Da a we e collec ed h ough semis uc u ed in-dep h in e -
iews, conduc ed ia Google Mee o Zoom ideo con e enc-
ing pla o ms be ween Oc obe 2020 and Augus 2021.
Du ing hese 10 mon hs o in e iewing, he Co id-19 pan-
demic shi ed in e iewees’ wo k con igu a ions om ull
lockdown and WFH con igu a ions o hyb id wo k modes
whe e bo h o ice-based wo k and WFH we e expec ed. The
lockdown measu es also a ied ac oss o ganiza ional si es
depending on ha egion’s phase o he pandemic.
Be o e each in e iew, pa icipan s we e gi en in o ma ion
abou he s udy and asked o sign a consen o m. The in e -
iew p o ocol consis ed o hemes including in o ma ion seek-
ing and sha ing, use o di e en communica ion echnologies,
connec i i y expec a ions and bounda y managemen p ac i-
ces wi hin he global eam, and global wo k and well-being.
Ques ions such as “Can you gi e an example o a si ua ion
when someone om wo k eached ou o you be o e o a e
you wo kday, and how you handled ha ?” o “Ha e you
discussed connec i i y expec a ions in you global eam?”
p o ided in-dep h in o ma ion abou in e iewees’ bounda y
managemen p ac ices bo h a an indi idual and eam le el.
The in e iews we e conduc ed by h ee membe s o he e-
sea ch eam, wo o whom a e au ho s o his s udy. They
las ed om 52 o 134 min, wi h an a e age o a ound 75 min.
All 55 in e iews we e ansc ibed e ba im esul ing in 2,058
double-spaced pages o ex .
Da a analysis
The analysis was ca ied ou using a quali a i e, ph one ic
analysis me hod (T acy, 2019) which consis s o an i e a i e
p ocess in which he empi ical da a and heo y a e in dialog.
The p ocess in ol ed bo h a da a-d i en analysis and a
heo y-d i en analysis based on Bounda y Theo y (Ash o h
e al., 2000;Cla k, 2000) and a o dances (E ans e al., 2017;
T eem & Leona di, 2013), d awing on he concep o bound-
a y a o dances (a o dances o bounda y managemen ) as a
co e-sensi izing concep in ou analysis. While ou p ocess
was highly in e ac i e and mo ed back and o h be ween
da a and li e a u e as we unea hed in e es ing concep s in
ou da a and wo ked o in o m hem wi h heo y, o he pu -
poses o cla i y and con o mi y wi h jou nal con en ions, we
ha e educed ou analysis o h ee key s ages o coding
(T acy, 2012).
Fi s , open coding was ca ied ou using hema ic analysis
(B aun & Cla ke, 2006) wi h he quali a i e analysis so wa e
A las. i. This made i possible o compa e da a and examine
he ela ionships be ween smalle issues and b oade phenom-
ena. The i s -le el coding was ini ially applied o only pa o
he da ase , a e which he eme ging coding scheme was used
o analyze he es o he da a (T acy, 2019). In he i s -le el
coding, we iden i ied how in o man s alked abou hei wo k
and he a ious bounda ies hey aced in hei eams, whe he
he eam had discussed issues ela ed o connec i i y ou side
wo king hou s, and how communica ion echnologies we e
used. This analysis was done on a eam-by- eam basis.
While we we e ini ially sensi ized o he concep o bound-
a y a o dances going in o he analysis, speci ic s a egies o
bounda y managemen eme ged in ou second le el o coding,
and we began o compa e and con as hese a ious ac ics.
A his s age, codes we e e iewed, connec ions es ablished
be ween hem, and desc ip i e ca ego ies we e de eloped in o
second-le el analy ical ca ego ies (T acy, 2019). Fo example,
desc ip i e i s -le el codes such as “choice o medium
(phone, Wha sApp, Google)” and “indica ing expec ed
esponse ime in email” we e o med in o a second-le el
ca ego y, a s a egy called “signaling u gency.” Simila ly,
i s -le el codes such as “swi ching o no i ica ions” and “use
o di e en de ices o wo k and pe sonal communica ion”
Table 1. Team cha ac e is ics
Team Numbe in e iewed/numbe o
eam membe s
Team loca ions Type o wo k
A 4/4 Asia and Aus alia De eloping aw ma e ials
B 5/8 Asia and Aus alia Sou cing o aw ma e ials
C 5/5 Asia and Aus alia Managing accoun ing en ies and financial pe o mance
D 9/9 Eu ope, Asia, and he Uni ed S a es P o iding logis ics se ices
E 10/10 Eu ope, Asia, Aus alia, and he Uni ed S a es Audi ing supplie s and building a sus ainabili y po al
F 6/7 Eu ope and he Uni ed S a es Managing accoun ing en ies and financial pe o mance
G 8/19 The Uni ed S a es Handling ope a ions wi h di e en e minals
H 4/4 Sweden and Finland Managing public ela ions
I 4/4 Finland Managing in e nal communica ions
4Managing collapsed bounda ies
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o med a second-le el ca ego y, a s a egy called “ acilla ing
be ween domains.”
Finally, we explo ed how global wo ke s d ew on bounda y
a o dances h ough a ious s a egies o manage bounda ies
in global wo k. In compa ing he a ious bounda y manage-
men s a egies we iden i ied, we obse ed ha some o hem
we e used o e ec bounda y suppo , while o he s we e used
s a egically o bounda y collapse. We g ouped he s a egies
in o he selec i e ca ego ies o bounda y suppo and bounda y
collapse s a egies. In his s age, we also looked o ela ion-
ships be ween managemen o global wo k bounda ies and
wo k–home bounda ies and how each ype o s a egy was en-
abled by a ious socioma e ial a o dances s emming om he
communica ion echnologies, spa io empo al ea u es o wo k,
as well as he o ganiza ional cul u e and WFH policy. Figu e 1
p esen s ou coding s uc u e and helps o explain how we
mo ed om i s -le el o highe -le el coding. This p ocess
helped us o c ea e ou eme gen heo e ical amewo k, which
is p esen ed in Figu e 2.In heFindings sec ion, all he quo es
o iginally in a di e en language han English a e ansla ed o
English, pseudonyms a e used o all pa icipan s, and all iden-
i ying de ails a e modi ied o p o ec con iden iali y.
Findings
Ou analysis e ealed ha global wo ke s d ew on socioma e-
ial a o dances (bo h echnological and spa io empo al) o
manage global wo k and wo k–home bounda ies h ough
s a egies o bo h bounda y suppo and bounda y collapse.
We will now unpack he a ious s a egies used o bounda y
suppo and bounda y collapse, as well as he a o dances o
each and how hey we e used o manage bo h global wo k
and wo k–li e bounda ies. Finally, we show how bo h global
wo k and wo k–home bounda y a o dances acili a ed by o -
ganiza ional alues led o bounda y suppo , while he shi o
WFH di ec i es b ough abou by he global pandemic c e-
a ed challenges due o bounda y collapse—bu also p esen ed
new socioma e ial a o dances ha c ea ed unexpec ed bene-
i s o managing bo h global wo k and wo k–li e bounda ies.
RQ1: A o dances o bounda y suppo
In gene al, he company cul u e c ea ed s ic guidelines and
no ms a ound main aining igid bounda ies be ween wo k
and home domains in o de o p ese e wo k–li e balance,
and global wo ke s ied ha d o p ese e hese igid bound-
a ies h ough bounda y suppo s a egies. Ou analysis
e ealed wo bounda y suppo s a egies ha acili a ed
global wo k bounda y managemen (signaling u gency and
inc easing a ailabili y awa eness) and wo bounda y suppo
s a egies ha acili a ed wo k–home bounda y managemen
( acilla ing be ween domains and espec ing p i a e ime),
which elied on echnological as well as spa io empo al
a o dances.
Signaling u gency
Signaling u gency was pe cei ed as an essen ial bounda y sup-
po s a egy in managing global wo k bounda ies. As wo k-
ing ac oss geog aphical and empo al bounda ies mean ha
colleagues’ loca ion o phase o he wo kday was o en di i-
cul o p edic , i was impo an o calib a e he le el o u -
gency when sending messages o global eam membe s.
Acco ding o membe s o se e al eams, i was a common
p ac ice o sende s o indica e in hei messages whene e
hey we e expec ing an immedia e esponse o eac ion.
Signaling u gency as a bounda y suppo s a egy ga e he
whole global eam an unde s anding o how quickly o ake
ac ion a e ecei ing a message. As Yusu , a manage om
Team A, desc ibed, “Someone sen an email o maybe i e o
us saying ‘can you please help me o ill in his lease o check
shee . App ecia e i you can eply by nex F iday’. Okay. So
immedia ely we know ha as long as we eply be o e nex
F iday ha ’s ine o ha pe son.”
Signaling u gency by explici ly men ioning expec ed e-
sponse ime in one’s messages enabled global eam membe s
o be e manage hei wo kload despi e he geog aphical and
ime zone di e ences. Team membe s also d ew on echnologi-
cal a o dances and de eloped sha ed meanings a ound he
pe cei ed u gency o a ious media, and hey used hei choice
o communica ion medium o signal u gency. As Ke an om
Team B s a ed, “we had one exe cise be o e on his. I was
ag eed ha o impo an calls, you can call us di ec ly on
you phone. I i ’s no so u gen hen you can d op us a mes-
sage on Wha sApp and email and we will eply acco dingly.”
As his example shows, signaling u gency was o en explic-
i ly nego ia ed wi hin he eam and enac ed h ough he
choice o communica ion echnology. In gene al, phone calls
we e ese ed o mo e u gen messages, ollowed by ins an
messaging (Wha sApp, Google Hangou s), whe eas email
was conside ed less u gen . As Thomas om Team A
explained: “wi h emails... you gene ally wouldn’ expec a e-
sponse ill he nex day.” In e es ingly, email was used in a
mo e adi ional, asynch onous way, whe eas o he asynch o-
nous communica ion media, such as ins an messaging, we e
used mo e synch onously as “ he quickes way o each he
pe son and i ’s p e y s anda d p ac ice” (F ans, Team H).
Team E’s leade explained ha cha was mos ly used o u -
gen messages: “I i ’s some hing c i ical, mos o he ime i ’s
h ough cha .” This could be u he explained by he ma e-
ial ea u es o he de ices used, as email was usually used on
one’s compu e (which people gene ally le in he o ice, p io
o Co id), whe eas ins an messaging applica ions we e used
mo e commonly on pa icipan s’ sma phones (and we e hus
mo e likely o be checked ou side o he o ice).
In his way, signaling u gency was a bounda y suppo
s a egy in managing global wo k bounda ies ha was
enac ed by echnological a o dances, in e wining echnolog-
ical ea u es wi h socioma e ial p ac ices. Bo h he immediacy
and ma e iali y enabled by he medium and de ices used as
well as he ways global employees explica ed and in e p e ed
he esponse expec a ions associa ed wi h he message ma -
e ed in signaling u gency.
Inc easing a ailabili y awa eness
A NRG whe e a la ge p opo ion o employees wo ked in
global oles, se e al in o man s men ioned he need o be
awa e o colleagues’ a ailabili y ac oss global wo k bound-
a ies. P ese ing o ganiza ional cul u al no ms equi ed ha
he ime zones whe e dispe sed colleagues wo ked we e in-
g ained in employees’ minds. Wo ke s in global oles had a
clea sense o wha ime hei Eu opean, Uni ed S a es, o
Asian colleagues could be eached. Zack, a membe o Team
G loca ed in Texas, USA, desc ibed he ways he could each
his Belgian colleagues: “I we wan o communica e on he
cha , I can send hem a message any ime be ween like 6 a.m.
my ime and 10 a.m., and hey will p obably espond.” Xin, a
membe o Team E loca ed in Singapo e desc ibed his
Jou nal o Compu e -Media ed Communica ion (2023) 5
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communica ion as ollows: “I will no con ac ou Finland
colleagues in he mo ning, in my mo ning ime zone because
ha is oo ea ly o hem so I will no do ha . I only con ac
hem he second hal o my day, so ha is he mo ning in
Finland.”
These global wo ke s d ew on he bounda y suppo s a -
egy o inc easing a ailabili y awa eness in managing global
wo k bounda ies. They did his by d awing on echnological
a o dances, such as hose p o ided by digi al calenda s and
ins an messaging ools. Thomas, a manage based in
Figu e 1. Coding o he in e iew da a.
6Managing collapsed bounda ies
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Aus alia who wo ked in Team A, s a ed ha he always ma ked
his wo k hou s in his Google calenda . This indica ed o o he s
when he was no a ailable and was also a signal ha he could
no espond o hei messages immedia ely. Ano he way o
make colleagues awa e o one’s a ailabili y (and una ailabili y)
was o use he sha ed calenda s bu block ou one’s own ime
ou side o ice hou s. Pa ick, a manage loca ed in Aus alia in
Team B, said ha “I’ e jus had o ge a li le bi s ic e wi h
how I manage my calenda . So, I’ e essen ially blocked ou my
calenda om 6 p.m. and s opped esponding a e 7 p.m.”
Simila ly, ins an messaging sys ems could also be used o in-
c ease o he s’ awa eness abou one’s a ailabili y. Nadja, based in
Finland in Team E illus a ed he way he ime se ings o he in-
s an messenge could be used o block messages a ce ain imes:
“In cha s you can se he imes ha you a e away. So, hey jus
ge bounced o i you we e o con ac hem a a ce ain ime.”
Again, i was he echnological a o dances including bo h
he ma e ial ea u es o he communica ion echnology in an-
dem wi h social p ac ices and no ms o he o ganiza ion ha
enabled a ailabili y awa eness. Awa eness o colleagues’
global wo k bounda ies was signaled h ough join discus-
sions in eams and ac oss global si es and h ough his in-
c eased awa eness global wo k bounda ies we e espec ed:
You’ll e en hea i whene e you’ e alking o someone: “I
wonde i so-and-so knows abou his, can you ex o in-
s an message hem eally quickly?” And hey may say “I
hink hey’ e on aca ion.” Then I would say “okay, we’ll
ca ch hem whene e hey’ e back.” In ha case I didn’
know...wha ha pe son’s schedule was, bu he poin is
ha he e is a good espec a ound ha . (Adam, Team D)
No ably, a la ge majo i y (45 ou o 55) o he in o man s
seemed o be awa e o hei colleagues’ a ailabili y in gene al
and his was commonly discussed in eams. The ac ha
many would no e en use asynch onous media such as email
o con ac cowo ke s in o he ime zones ou side o hei
wo k hou s unde sco ed he managemen o global wo k
bounda ies main ained by he o ganiza ional cul u e and he
s ong bounda y suppo s a egies ha we e in place.
Vacilla ing be ween domains
Wo k–home bounda y suppo s a egies di e ed om global
wo k bounda y suppo s a egies in ha he o me we e
cen e ed a ound indi idual wo ke s and hei well-being
h ough he use o di e en communica ion echnologies, o -
ganiza ional and home spaces, and social p ac ices. The
bounda y suppo s a egy o acilla ing be ween wo k–home
domains consis ed o sepa a ing wo k–home domains and al-
e na ing be ween hem. A eam leade loca ed in Finland de-
sc ibed swi ching o g oup no i ica ions while a wo k o
sepa a e wo k and home domains and o emo e dis ac ing
ex a s imuli c ea ed by communica ion echnologies:
As a mo he o h ee child en who a e e y ac i e in hei
hobbies, he e a e a million [online] hobby g oups and
school g oups and pa en s’ g oups. I o en emo e hese
no i ica ions [ om hose online g oups] du ing he wo k
day, because some imes hey lash e e ywhe e. (Alma,
Team I)
Global wo ke s elied on echnological a o dances in se -
e al ways o d aw a sha p sepa a ion be ween wo k and
Wo k-Home Bounda ies
Global Wo k Bounda ies
O ganiza ionalValues
collapseOO
O ganiza ionalValues
Global Wo k Bounda y
A o dances
Technological
Spa io empo al
Wo k-Home Bounda y
A o dances
Technological
Spa io empo al
Bounda y Suppo S a egies
-
Signaling u gency
-
Inc easing a ailabili y
awa eness
-
Vacilla ing be ween domains
-
Respec ing p i a e ime
Wo k-F om-HomePolicy
Bounda y Collapse S a egies
-Minimizing s a us di e ences
-
Connec ing o well-being
-
Connec ing du ing peak
pe iods
Wo k-F om-HomePolicy
Figu e 2. Eme gen heo e ical model.
Jou nal o Compu e -Media ed Communica ion (2023) 7
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home domains by using di e en de ices o wo k and pe -
sonal communica ion, o en o keep wo k om spilling in o
hei home li e. Some epo ed using sepa a e mobile phones
o wo k and pe sonal use, o changing ou he SIM ca d
when hey wen home: “I’ e go my pe sonal and business
SIM in he phone so I’ e go wo connec ions ... o en a
nigh ime I’ll disable he G Cha [Google cha ] o 12 hou s”
(Pa ick, Team B). O he s men ioned lea ing hei lap op a
wo k and jus using hei phone a home, disconnec ing du -
ing dinne , sc eening bu no eplying o email a e hou s,
pu ing hei phone in ai plane mode, no checking hei wo k
phone on he weekends, and dele ing Google applica ions
while on lea e. All hese s a egies allowed hem o sepa a e
wo k and home domains and ocus on one a a ime.
Vacilla ing be ween wo k–home domains also mean ha
employees some imes ex ended hei wo kdays by a ending
o amily issues o hei own hobbies du ing he day and con-
inuing hei wo k day in o he e ening. In his way, hey
d ew on spa io empo al a o dances o hei physical home/
o ice space as well echnological a o dances o mobile
phones and lap ops o spli hei day in o sec ions whe e hey
could ocus on wo k o pe sonal issues. Johanna, loca ed in
China, illus a ed he ways o spli ing he long wo kdays
in o sec ions o be able o main ain well-being and inc ease
ene gy when needed: “Some imes... I ealize ‘Oh, I’ e go
a mee ing a 9 pm, shoo , well, I’ll go home in he mean ime
and go o he s o e and o he gym and ake a showe ’
and hen a nine I ha e enewed ene gy and can wo k again”
(Johanna, Team C). Fu he , acilla ing be ween li e domains
was a wo k–home bounda y suppo s a egy ha equi ed
employees o ha e enough au onomy o decide when and
whe e hey wo ked. Indeed, o many employees, his seemed
o be he case. As Sebas ien, a logis ics manage in Belgium
explained:
I ha e he possibili y [ o disconnec om wo k] e e y mo-
men . E e y minu e o he day I would say ... I I eel i ’s
no good anymo e a his momen I will call [Name] o ex-
ample and say okay I’m going ou o one day o wha e e .
O I ake a one-week aca ion ... The e’s o al eedom, o
almos o al eedom. (Sebas ien, Team D)
E en hough Team D wo ked in logis ics, which o en e-
qui ed connec i i y a ound he clock, eam membe s el hey
had enough au onomy o a end o wo k–home domains as
hey wished.
Thus, he bounda y suppo s a egy o acilla ing be ween
wo k–home domains was managed by d awing on echnolog-
ical a o dances o u n o no i ica ions and use sepa a e
de ices o wo k and pe sonal communica ion, and d awing
on spa io empo al a o dances o design wo kdays o be
s a ed o con inued a home o wo k a ound amily obliga-
ions o disconnec o hei own well-being. This s a egy
was also acili a ed by he o ganiza ional cul u e, which p o-
ided global wo ke s wi h he au onomy needed o con ol
whe e and when o conduc hei wo k.
Respec ing p i a e ime
E en hough he s a egies o managing wo k–home bound-
a ies appea ed o be pe sonal in many ways, e ol ing a ound
ime managemen and sel -discipline, hey we e hea ily em-
bedded in o ganiza ional alues and sha ed no ms. A second
home–wo k bounda y suppo s a egy o espec ing p i a e
ime was also hea ily embedded in he o ganiza ional cul u e.
All o ou in e iewees emphasized he impo ance o espec -
ing each o he s’ p i a e li es. This was e lec ed in his e-
sponse om a eam membe om India:
The only hing ha can hinde wo king wi h a global o ga-
niza ion is he ime di e ence and managing you wo king
hou s, bu ... ha is well espec ed a NRG and we ha e
ou own calenda s o ma k ou wo king hou s and se ou
mee ings. So e e yone espec s ha and ollows ha ac-
co dingly. (Ha ish, Team B)
Global wo ke s d ew on he echnological a o dances o
indi idually managed bu sha ed elec onic calenda s o enac
he s a egy o espec ing each o he s’ p i a e ime. This
wo k–home bounda y suppo s a egy was in luenced by he
sha ed global o ganiza ional cul u e and alues o NRG,
which we e pe cei ed o e lec “Eu opean alues” o he
“No dic way.” Venla, a Eu opean manage loca ed a NRG
HQ, desc ibed ha because i was in a cen al ime zone in
he No dics he HQ ime was e y well espec ed, bu el he
alue o espec ing p i a e ime also ex ended o o he si es:
We ha e a ce ain unde s anding ha be o e 8:30 am we
usually don’ book any mee ings [ o he people in he
HQ].—And we know ha a e 12 pm [HQ ime] no mee -
ings a e booked in Asia [6 pm in Asian si es]. And hen
again in Hous on, we know ha he mee ing ime is a
4am o 5am a he ea lies , and no one books mee ings ea -
lie in Hous on. And hey won’ book a mee ing a e six
pm he e [in HQ]. (Venla, Team E)
The company had s ong no ms abou no con ac ing col-
leagues a e wo k hou s (e.g., e enings, weekends, and aca-
ions), and his was ein o ced by op managemen . Ve a, a
communica ion manage , desc ibed: “A NRG, holidays a e
espec ed e en in he op managemen eam. The e has o be
like a supe eme gency i someone is con ac ed while on holi-
day.” Employees also men ioned being o e ed well-being
coaching by he company o help hem manage wo k–home
bounda ies, and hei supe iso s o en eminded hem abou
he impo ance o aking b eaks and aca ions. Connec i i y
no ms we e also explici ly discussed in he eam, and cons an
connec i i y was no expec ed. This way, espec ing p i a e
ime was a s a egy ha was acili a ed by echnological a o -
dances enabling disconnec ing du ing e enings and on holi-
days. Hence, he wo k–home bounda y suppo s a egies
elied on mainly echnological bu also spa io empo al a o -
dances, and hey we e ein o ced by an o ganiza ional cul u e
ha hea ily alued au onomy and p i acy.
RQ2: Changes in bounda y managemen due o
Co id-19
The Co id-19 pandemic and he s ic WFH policy i necessi-
a ed c ea ed a dis up ion ha condi ioned he ways global
wo ke s a NRG we e able o manage hei global wo k and
wo k–home bounda ies. As ou da a we e collec ed du ing
he ea ly s ages o Co id-19, we we e able o cap u e some o
he ways in which i was changing bounda y managemen
p ac ices. The WFH policy c ea ed bo h unexpec ed bene i s
and challenges o global wo k and wo k–home bounda y
managemen . Whe eas he o ganiza ional cul u e p o ided
8Managing collapsed bounda ies
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