Individuals with a preference toward integration are comfortable removing boundaries between work and nonwork, while those with a preference toward segmentation prefer to keep temporal and physical boundaries between work and nonwork intact. 

Individual Preferences: Integration vs. Segmentation 

Segmentation/integration can be considered according to personal preferences, individuals’ actual behaviors, and the environmental conditions that facilitate segmentation/integration, such as boundary supplies. 

New York University

Segmentors prefer to keep work and nonwork roles separate; workers who prefer integration represent the other extreme. 

Segmentation vs. Integration

Allen, T. D., Merlo, K., Lawrence, R. C., Slutsky, J., &amp; Gray, C. E. (2021). Boundary Management and work‐nonwork balance while working from home. Applied Psychology, 70(1), 60–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12300

Boundary Management and Work-Nonwork Balance While Working from Home

Integration and segmentation are viewed as two extremes on a continuum that most individuals and situations fall somewhere in between. Neither integration nor segmentation of roles is good or bad; it is more important to find where an individual is fit and what the context provides. 

Relationship: Integration and Segmentation

Considering Segmentation/Integration

- Behavioral tactics: involve using other people, such as getting help from others
- Temporal tactics: involve controlling work time, such as by blocking off segments of time for work and nonwork
- Physical tactics: adapting physical boundaries, such as by manipulating physical space
- Communicative tactics: setting expectations, such as by confronting people who violate boundaries

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