Matthew B. Perrigino, Roshni Raveendhran
The popularity of remote work underscores its importance as a key strategic priority for organizations. This calls for new theory on how organizations effectively control work–nonwork boundaries while balancing employees’ demands for flexibility. We draw upon boundary control theory and the strategic human resource management (SHRM) perspective to posit that organizations will seek to influence where work occurs, when work occurs, and remote employees’ attention, based on strategic choices associated with (a) the organization’s view of its human capital and (b) the degree of work interdependence. We theorize how each strategic choice influences the configuration of HRM systems for remote work, encompassing remote work policies (allowing organizations varying degrees of control over where and when work occurs) and technology processes (allowing organizations varying degrees of control over remote employees’ attention). Further, we theorize how different combinations of remote work policies and technology processes enhance organizational performance, including how organizations resolve emergent tensions when considering the two strategic choices together. Taken together, we offer a framework for understanding how contemporary organizations strategically design HRM systems to establish where, when, and how work occurs.