From Boundary Management to Work-Life Balance: Exploring the Role of Functional Competencies and Personal Attributes of Teachers in Public High Schools

Abstract ―​

This study examined the relationship between boundary management and work-life balance among public high school teachers in the Division of Quezon and investigated whether functional competency moderates this relationship. Grounded in Boundary Theory, Work-Family Border Theory, the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model, and Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory, the research employed a quantitative descriptive-correlational design with moderation analysis using Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Model 1). A random sample of 458 public high school teachers participated. Results revealed that teachers demonstrated generally high levels of boundary management, with temporal and communicative tactics receiving the strongest ratings. Work-life balance was characterized by moderate work-family conflict and high work-family enrichment. Functional competency was rated extremely effective across all domains. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the integration strategy had the strongest positive relationship with work-family conflict (r = .463, p < .001), whereas the temporal and communicative tactics had moderate positive relationships with work-family enrichment. Moderation analysis confirmed that functional competency significantly strengthened the positive relationship between boundary management and work-life balance (B = 0.150, p = .040), indicating that teachers with higher professional competence derive greater work-life benefits from effective boundary management. The findings underscore the importance of integrating professional skill development with boundary management practices to enhance teacher well-being.