Abstract
Abstract
Purpose:
This paper aims to conceptualise micro-boundary leadership by examining how employees construct subtle within-work psychological boundaries to protect cognitive and emotional resources, and how leadership practices can recognise and respectfully navigate these invisible protective mechanisms in contemporary organisational environments.
Design/methodology/approach:
A narrative literature review methodology was adopted to synthesise interdisciplinary scholarship from boundary theory, workplace stress, leadership studies, and organisational behaviour. Peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical studies published since 2015 were systematically analysed to explore leadership responses to unarticulated employee micro-boundaries and their organisational implications.
Findings:
The review indicates that micro-boundaries frequently function as adaptive strategies for managing cognitive load and emotional labour rather than as indicators of disengagement. Leadership practices that demonstrate boundary literacy, participatory boundary negotiation, and outcome-oriented coordination are associated with reduced defensive boundary intensification and improved collaboration, creativity, and sustainable performance, particularly in high-stress organisational contexts.
Originality/value:
This study extends traditional boundary management scholarship by introducing micro-boundaries as an intra-organisational psychological phenomenon and positions leadership capability in boundary recognition as a critical mechanism for balancing employee wellbeing with organisational performance demands in digitally connected workplaces.
Keywords:
Micro-boundaries; leadership; boundary management; mental bandwidth; psychological resources; workplace wellbeing.