The bounded workplace: defence, development and domestication strategies amongst male shiftworkers

ABSTRACT Unlike studies of women, studies of men in paid employment have tended to focus on them purely as workers, trade unionists and breadwinners, rather than on their roles beyond the workplace. This paper addresses this omission by exploring the relationship between paid work and aspects of family life amongst 69 male process workers from three manufacturing companies. It offers qualitative evidence to demonstrate that understanding men's wider domestic/familial roles and responsibilities is integral to analyses of their workplace behaviour. The conclusion from this study is that the boundary between home and work is selectively‐permeable, and the workers took aspects of their domestic life into the workplace whilst seeking to prevent their paid work from intruding on family and domestic life.