Temporal Boundary Control As Determinant of Job Engagement: The Roles of Work-Family Balance Satisfaction and Work-Home Identity Conflict/integration

As the world adapts to the new boundaryless work environment, the issue of managing boundaries come to the forefront. We build on past research on boundary control theory to examine the effect of perceived Temporal Boundary Control (TBC) on work-family balance satisfaction, and eventually on job engagement. We also test for the moderating impact of work-home identity integration (HWII). Data from 218 employees working at least 50% of the time from home confirmed a moderated mediation relationship among perceived TBC, work-family balance satisfaction, and engagement. Participants with higher perceptions of TBC, reported higher work-family balance satisfaction, which resulted in higher job engagement. Perceiving more control over the temporal boundaries of work and home activities resulted in more satisfaction with work-family balance, and this effect is significantly stronger for individuals who have less integrated work and home identities. This contributes to the literature of boundary control, identity integration and work-family balance.