The COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented challenge to the global workforce. To better understand the impact of the pandemic on work and careers, I call for research taking a closer look at the boundaries in the career context. Specifically, both the micro (boundaries that demarcate role domains) and macro (national borders) boundaries should be considered. The pandemic changes the existing boundaries and challenges the “usual” practices; while it blurs the micro, cross-domain boundaries, it strengthens the macro, cross-country boundaries. I propose that the changes in the micro and macro boundaries are one of the important mechanisms in how COVID-19 affects many individuals' vocational behaviors and career outcomes. In this essay, I explain why we should pay more attention to the boundaries to learn about the impact of COVID-19 on vocational and career behaviors. I conclude with a discussion of several directions for future research.

COVID-19对全球员工构成了前所未有的挑战。为了更好地了解大流行对工作和职业的影响，我呼吁进行研究，以更仔细地了解职业背景下的界限。具体而言，应同时考虑微观（划分角色域的边界）和宏观（国界）边界。大流行改变了现有的界限，并挑战了“通常”的做法；尽管它模糊了微观，跨领域的边界，但加强了宏观，跨国界。我认为微观和宏观边界的变化是COVID-19如何影响许多人的职业行为和职业成果的重要机制之一。在这篇文章中 我解释了为什么我们应该更加关注边界以了解COVID-19对职业和职业行为的影响。最后，我讨论了未来研究的几个方向。