“Switching back and forth among one’s currently held roles.” (Desrochers & Sargent)
Ashforth (2001) defines micro role transitions as “the psychological and (if relevant) physical movement between simultaneously held roles” (p. 7). So, one difference between macro and micro role transitions is that macro transitions are between sequentially held roles (such as from worker to retired worker), and micro role transitions are between simultaneously held roles (such as the worker and parent roles). Ashforth, Kreiner, and Fugate (2000) define micro role transitions as “frequent and usually recurring transitions, such as the commute between home and work” (p. 472); their model of micro role transitions focuses on “three major domains of everyday role transitions involving work: (1) work-home transitions (i.e., commuting and home-based work), (2) work-work or at-work transitions (e.g., between one’s roles of subordinate, peer, superordinate, and organizational representative; between multiple jobs [moonlighting]), and (3) work-“third place” transitions (i.e., between work and other social domains, such as a church, health club, and neighborhood bar” (p. 473).