Setting our boundaries: The role of gender, values, and role salience in work–home boundary permeability

Although women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, gender role stereotypes persist, and gender roles may relate to how men and women manage work–home boundaries. In this study, we explore gender differences in how employee values (tradition, achievement) translate into role identity salience, and in turn, boundary management preferences and behaviour. With data collected in two waves from 200 employees, we examined how the personal values of tradition and achievement relate differently by gender to role identity salience and in turn, boundary management. We found that men who more strongly value tradition have higher levels of work identity salience and both prefer and create an impermeable boundary around work to prevent intrusion from home. Men who valued tradition more also preferred and crafted a permeable home boundary to allow work intrusion. In contrast, women with higher tradition values reported higher home identity salience, which was associated with preferring segmentation in both work-to-home and home-to-work directions, and to behaviorally protecting home from work. Contrary to expectations, achievement values did not relate to a boundary management process via role identity salience for either gender. We discuss implications for a more nuanced, values-driven, and gendered perspective on boundary management.