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Abstract

Coworking spaces have recently grown in popularity as a third workspace with benefits of both working from home and traditional office spaces. The goal of the current study was to examine how employees working in coworking spaces construct and navigate the boundaries between work and life in this working space. Two research questions were asked: how are work-life boundaries conceptualized and navigated for those in coworking spaces, and are there gender or parental differences in how these boundaries are conceptualized and navigated? To answer these questions, border theory was applied to 78 in-depth interviews with individuals who work primarily in coworking spaces using a constant comparative analysis. Five major themes emerged from the data. First, employees that left traditional office spaces enjoy the autonomy and flexibility they have when working in a coworking space. Second, employees that now work in a coworking space instead of working from home report feeling less isolated and less distracted from family and chores. Third, employees that want to integrate their work and life spheres (especially women) can bring their family to work and create social friendships that extend beyond the coworking space. Fourth, employees who want to separate their work and life can use segmentation strategies such as using physical and temporal boundaries to strengthen the border between work and life. Finally, the benefits of coworking extend beyond work-life boundaries and balance to increase well-being, provide collaboration and accountability, and create a community of passion around work.

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