Work-Home Boundary Limits: A study on evangelical pastors’ daily lives

Abstract

The aim of this research is to analyze the mutual influence in the process of negotiating work-home boundaries and personal and social identity or, in other words, to study the method of adapting and managing domestic and professional conflicts which interfere with the harmony of evangelical pastors’ work and personal lives. A qualitative study was conducted in order to achieve the aims proposed, involving an interpretative approach with the pastors of a specific ecclesiastical institution: The Assemblies of God in Brazil. A total of 20 interviews were held, and, following coding procedures, boundary-work tactics, whose taxonomy falls within physical, behavioural, time and communicative dimensions, were found. The results revealed that the sharp distinction seen was that the subjects were more likely to mingle interactions in work-home boundaries. The boundary-negotiation tactics were shown to be multi-functional, as they have dual function techniques, used both to segment and integrate the work-home boundary.