Work boundary violations and daily goal progress in remote work: the importance of the work role re-engagement

Purpose This paper aims to empirically study the effect of work boundary violations in remote settings on daily goal progress and the important role that work role reengagement plays for remote workers. Design/methodology/approach This paper conducted a five-day diary study in China, involving a total of 118 remote workers, to collect data on the effects of work boundary violations on daily goal progress. Findings The results demonstrated that self-control resource depletion plays a mediating role in the relationship between work boundary violations and daily goal progress. In addition, work role reengagement was found to mitigate the association between work boundary violations and self-control resource depletion. Practical implications This paper provides employees with the signals that cause them to perform less well in remote work situations than in traditional offices. Employees can develop work−family boundary management strategies to reduce work boundary violations while teleworking. Originality/value This paper enriches the existing literature on work boundary violations by incorporating ego depletion theory and integrating it with the current boundary management literature. The paper provides theoretically grounded recommendations for organizations seeking to enhance the efficiency of remote workers.