This study examines employees who, during the spread of the Covid-19 virus, have had to switch from working in the workplace to digital teleworking. The aim of the study is to achieve a deeper understanding of how the informants are experiencing their social work environment in digital teleworking, by examining how they experience their relationships with colleagues, managers and cohabitants, as well as how they experience their organizations’ handling of the social work environment. The empirical data consists of 6 qualitative, semi-structured interviews. The theoretical framework of the study consists of Jahoda’s Deprivation theory and Ahrne’s theory of the Organizational centaur, both of which concern the importance of social contact in the workplace. The result of the study show how the respondent’s collegial relationships are affected or even deteriorative by the digital telework during Covid-19 , and how the relationships with cohabitants have changed their dynamics by becoming more work oriented. The result also shows that the respondents perceived lack of organizational management of the social work environment during their new work circumstances caused by Covid-19. Meanwhile, the experiences of employee engagement for digital social contact has increased, as well as perceived social support from those whose partners also work from home. The conclusions of the study are that work seems to fulfill an unintentional social function that is irreplaceable, and that employee initiatives for social interaction increase when the employees feel that the employer invests too much in organizational goals

Denna studie undersöker arbetstagare som under spridningen av Covid-19 har behövt ställa om från arbete på arbetsplatsen till digitalt distansarbete. Studiens syfte är att nå en djupare förståelse av hur respondenterna upplever den sociala arbetsmiljön i det digitala distansarbetet, genom att undersöka hur de upplever relationerna till kollegor, chefer och samboende samt hur de upplever organisationernas hantering av den sociala arbetsmiljön. Den empiriska datan består av 6 stycken kvalitativa, semistrukturerade intervjuer i vilket respondenterna fått berätta om sina upplevelser. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgörs av Jahodas deprivationsteori och Ahrnes teori om den organisatoriska kentauren, vilka båda berör vikten av social kontakt i arbetet. Resultaten som framkommer vittnar om försämrade eller uteblivna kollegerelationer i det digitala distansarbete som orsakats av Covid-19, en ändrad relationsdynamik med samboende och upplevd bristande organisationshantering av den sociala arbetsmiljön i det digitala distansarbetet. Samtidigt återfinns dock upplevelser av ett ökat medarbetarengagemang för digital social kontakt, samt ett socialt stöd från partners som också arbetar hemifrån. Slutsatserna blir att arbetet verkar fylla en oavsiktlig social funktion som är oersättlig, samt att medarbetarinitiativen för socialt umgänge ökar då arbetstagarna upplever att arbetsgivaren satsar för mycket på organisatoriska mål.