“If you don’t agree to be available 24/7, then you have nothing to do in journalism”: the boundary work tactics of precarious journalists

ABSTRACT A satisfactory work–home balance in journalism is valuable for employees and organisations but for citizens as well because the work of journalists in a democracy is vital in terms of keeping the public informed and shaping public debate. Drawing on boundary theory, this study aims to examine how precariously employed journalists manage their role boundaries as they negotiate their work and home life demands. In-depth interviews conducted in 2017 and 2021 allowed us to obtain a longitudinal perspective on boundary work and to detect the tactics to create and maintain the preferred work-home role boundaries. The results show that work comes first with respect to the work–home balance in journalism. In the early years of their career, immersed in a labour-of-love ethic, journalists preferred to integrate work–home boundaries by being journalists 24 hours a day. Over time, a preference for the segmentation of work–home roles emerged along with different boundary work tactics. However, it is often impossible to segment boundaries due to the nature of the profession, and thus many of them leave the profession for public relations. The study makes an original contribution by adding a new boundary work tactic to the previously established typology.