Work-Life Boundary Management for Working Women: An Examination of Age and Motherhood

Abstract

Mobile technology has irrevocably altered the barrier between work and personal time. Instead of thinking of the work-life boundary along one segment-integrate continuum, this research shows it is comprised of three dimensions: flexibility, home-boundary permeability, and work-boundary permeability. The purpose of this paper is to examine how professional women maintain boundaries between work and personal life, and whether those boundaries vary based upon age, motherhood, or age of youngest child. This paper uses responses from 189 women who were working full-time to examine flexibility and the permeability of the work and home boundary. Of the examined boundary types examined, women with no flexibility and a permeable home boundary reported the most work-family conflict. Furthermore, findings indicate that working mothers had a more permeable home boundary than non-parents. This research expands the traditional segmentation/integration boundary definition to consider three dimensions (flexibility, home permeability, and work permeability) to define how working women enact a work-life boundary and how those decisions influence work-family conflict, work satisfaction, and life satisfaction.