Socialt & digitalt - går det ihop? -En kvalitativ studie om digitaliseringens påverkan på sociala relationer på arbetsplatsen

Sammanfattning: The modern society has become increasingly digitalized and many workplaces follow the same pattern. This means that people are becoming more distant from one another as work can be done from other places than the office. Social interactions now occur more through a screen, especially in extraordinary circumstances such as Covid-19. Man is by nature a social being and the development of technology is forcing individuals to more or less adapt social relations to become more digital. The question is whether social evolution is catching up with the progress of technology. The purpose of the study is to investigate how employees experience that increased digitalization affects their social relationships at work, in general and in relation to Covid-19. The study examines employees’ experiences with the help of qualitative interviews at a large company in Stockholm. The result shows that digitalization enables interaction with colleagues, although employees cannot physically meet. However, digitalization prevents the possibility of establishing deep social relationships. These relationships are considered essential for a work-group to function. Finally, it appears that the need for social relations in the workplace becomes more evident when employees are forced to isolate themselves from each other for a longer period, which is a consequence of the pandemic.