Heading home: The role of commute duration and strain in role transition and recovery

Abstract Commuting is an inescapable part of working for most employees and is often seen as a burdensome and stressful chore. However, boundary theory suggests that commutes play an important part in the transition between work and family domains and facilitating opportunities for psychological recovery after work. Using daily surveys of 80 car commuters representing 356 evening commutes, we examine the link between commute characteristics (duration and strain) and transition and recovery processes (detachment and relaxation) during the work‐to‐home commute. We also examine whether boundary management preferences shape one's susceptibility to daily variations in commute characteristics. We further link these commute transition and recovery processes to emotional exhaustion at the end of the commute. Results show that daily commute characteristics predict whether individuals engage in role transition and experience recovery during the work‐to‐home commute, which in turn predict post‐commute emotional exhaustion, but that individual differences in boundary management preferences shape the relationship between commute characteristics and transition and recovery experiences during the commute.