CULTURAL COLLISIONS: BALANCING FAMILY VALUES WITH REMOTE WORK BOUNDARIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Remote work has changed the face of professional life around the world, but the conflict between this practice and established family values in non-Western cultures has not been studied thoroughly. This paper explores the cultural tensions that arise when remote work practices are confronted with Nigerian family values, particularly among professionals in Oyo State. A qualitative, exploratory study design was used, which involved semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with 30 remote-working employees at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan. Thematic analysis was applied to the data according to the Braun and Clarke (2006) model, based on the Work-Family Border Theory (Clark, 2000). Results show that there are four major themes including continuous border permeability due to family intrusions; deep-rooted cultural commitments and societal demands that transcend professional boundaries; role asymmetries that disproportionately place women on home duty; and technological stress due to unreliable electricity and internet systems. The paper concludes that remote work sustainability in Nigeria requires culturally aware human resource practices, infrastructure-specific investment, and gender-sensitive interventions because the issue of work-family boundary management is not only an individual problem but also a structural and organisational issue.

Keywords: Culture, collisions, family, values, remote work, Nigeria, Oyo Stat