To Be, or Not to Be (In Office)

Sammanfattning

Hybrid work has become a defining feature of contemporary employment. Yet, little is known about how young professionals, who enter the labour market without established boundary routines, make sense of work-life balance under such arrangements. This study investigates how young professionals enact and negotiate boundaries in hybrid work contexts and how these enactments shape their interpretations of balance. Drawing on boundary theory and a qualitative, interpretive research design, we analyse semi-structured interviews to illuminate how individuals actively construct, adjust, and experience boundaries rather than merely comply with organisational conditions. Our findings reveal that balance is not achieved through strict separation of domains, but through selective permeability governed by personal agency, professional ambitions, and the contextual affordances of hybrid work. By demonstrating how boundary preferences and contextual constraints intersect, we extend current theorising on boundary management and contribute to literature that has historically centred on partnered or family-oriented employees. In doing so, this thesis advances a more nuanced understanding of hybrid work as a site where early-career employees continually negotiate meaning, autonomy, and belonging.