Shifting approaches to blurred work-nonwork boundaries in consulting careers

This paper advances the understanding of work–nonwork boundaries as a dynamic process shaped by evolving career demands, within the high-intensity context of professional service firms. While much of the mainstream work-nonwork literature conceptualises boundaries as stable preferences, recent work-life research and COVID-19 studies highlight that individuals' approaches to boundary management can shift in response to changing work, life, and health circumstances. This study explores how consulting professionals experience and (re)establish boundaries between work and nonwork throughout their careers. Employing an inductive qualitative approach, we gathered diary and interview data with thirty consultants from UK-based global firms. Findings reveal evolving boundary management modalities: idealising blurred boundaries, disillusionment, and pursuing more sustainable boundary strategies. Our insights extend boundary scholarship by illustrating the long-term dynamic negotiation of work–nonwork boundaries within the norms of professional service firms, underscoring the importance of context in shaping boundary evolution over time. • The research challenges the static view of work-nonwork boundaries, showing their continuous negotiation throughout professionals' careers. • Consultants' boundary management shifts from idealisation to disillusionment, leading to a search for more sustainable boundaries. This shift entails a questioning of the pervasive culture of overwork. • The study is based on qualitative data from thirty interviews and daily diaries with consultants from UK-based global consulting firms. • This research contributes to work-nonwork boundary discussions, especially in the context of evolving boundary management during flexible working conditions.