Performing the Workplace: Self-Presentation of Workplace Vloggers from the Perspective of Dramaturgical Theory

Abstract

A The rise of workplace vlogs signifies a new form of digital performance, wherein creators transform their professional environments and labor processes into continuously watchable media content. Beneath the surface of "documenting work," a systematic construction of self-image takes place. This study employs Erving Goffman's dramaturgical theory as its core analytical framework, integrating theoretical resources such as the "multi-stage front stage," "visibility production," and "connection and anti-connection" to examine the operational mechanisms and structural dilemmas of self-presentation among workplace vloggers. The research reveals that the core strategy of workplace vloggers is "mid-stage performance"—selectively exposing backstage elements to manufacture a sense of authenticity, thereby turning "authenticity" itself into a consumable front-stage symbol. However, this strategy contains an inherent paradox: the continuous extension of the front stage systematically compresses the backstage space, transforming audience gaze from "external viewing" to "internal surveillance." Bloggers, caught between multiple role expectations, fall into role overload and authenticity deficits. To cope with these pressures, they develop counter-strategies such as group visibility controls, content deletion, and periodic disconnection to maintain performance boundaries. This paper argues that the self-presentation in workplace vlogs epitomizes the deep entanglement of labor, performance, and identity in the digital age, reflecting the structural roots of self-alienation within platformized societies.