Managing the boundaries between work and home: a study with expatriates

Abstract This study aims to understand the tactics that expatriates use to manage the interface between work and home. This qualitative study was performed using in-depth interviews later submitted to content analysis, with 64 male Brazilian expatriates. The results showed that expatriates manage the conflicts that may appear in relationships with social actors from the organizational (e.g., employers, customers, and suppliers) and home (spouse, children, and parents) domains by using boundary work tactics. The analysis revealed a list of tactics that allow the expatriates to integrate or segment the work and home domains. This study suggests how expatriates can actively interact with people from work and home domains in such a way that they can build and maintain better work and home relationships during the period they are living in other country. Additionally, companies should develop work-home policies that consider the preferences that an expatriate and his family have for integrating or segmenting work and home domains.

摘要
本研究旨在探究外派员工用于管理工作与家庭边界的策略。本项质性研究针对64名巴西男性外派员工开展深度访谈，随后对访谈资料进行内容分析。
研究结果显示，外派员工可通过运用边界工作策略（boundary work tactics），处理与组织领域（如雇主、客户及供应商）及家庭领域（配偶、子女与父母）内社会关系主体间可能出现的冲突。本次分析梳理出一系列可帮助外派员工整合或分割工作与家庭领域的策略。
本研究揭示了外派员工在海外旅居期间，如何通过与工作及家庭领域的相关人员开展积极互动，建立并维系更优质的工作与家庭关系。此外，企业应制定兼顾外派员工及其家庭对工作与家庭边界整合或分割偏好的工作-家庭政策。