Une tragédie pour le dialogue social? Comment le numérique a perturbé la dimension théâtrale du dialogue social lors du premier confinement lié à la COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Drawing on Goffman's writings, our article looks at how social dialogue evolves when the theater of interactions between unions and employers becomes digital, as was the case following the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on 23 interviews, our article highlights three effects of digital technology on the stage play of union actors the loss of the theatrical character of speech, the isolation of actors and the desynchronization of their interventions. Our study also concludes that there is an overall impoverishment of backstage exchanges. This article contributes to the literature by showing how the remote mode modifies the power relations between unions and employers as well as the very nature of their relations.