After hours teleworking and boundary management: Effects on work-family conflict

BACKGROUND: There is a need for a better understanding of how the use of technology to complete work outside regular office hours is related to work-life outcomes. Few studies have also investigated how individual differences in work-nonwork boundary management relate to work-life outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to examine how teleworking outside regular office hours and individual boundary management relate to work-family conflict. METHODS: A web survey was sent to fulltime employees at the headquarters of a multinational high-tech firm in Sweden. A total of 71 answers were obtained and analyzed using regression analysis. RESULTS: The extent of teleworking after hours was unrelated to work-family conflict. However, as previous research has shown, having more permeable boundaries and allowing work to interrupt nonwork behavior was related to higher levels of conflict. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that teleworking after hours is not as problematic in terms of work-family conflict as has been reported in previous studies. Furthermore, in order to prevent high levels of work-family conflict, it is seemingly beneficial to avoid work interruptions during nonwork behavior.