As the pandemic loosens its grip, it seems increasingly clear that agile working will not remain just an emergency solution, but will be an increasingly popular modality and, for all those who carry out activities compatible with remote working, the next way of working. There are many polls confirming this. The latest one created by MeglioQuesto and Tecne (created in February 2022 on a sample of 2,000 workers and 500 companies), will be presented this morning during the smart conference La Vita Agile, work towards the future, organized by questoquello together with the Associazione Lavoro & Welfare, attended by among others the Minister of Labor and Social Policies Andrea Orlando, the Mayor of Milan Beppe Sala, the Vice President of Confindustria with responsibility for Labor and Industrial Relations, Maurizio Stirpe. In addition to the survey, an international and European scenario of agile work will also be presented, edited by Fausta Guarriello, full professor of labor law at the University of Chieti and breaking latest news. But let’s see the research results.
The appreciation of smart working
The research of MeglioQuesto and Tecnè has measured the appreciation of smart working which in the last two years has proved to be an indispensable tool for dealing with the crisis. Thanks to smart working, companies have become more competitive and have innovated products and services by improving margins. Compared to the pre-covid period, 23.4% of companies have changed the organization of production and sales processes, 20.2% have started the production of new goods or services, 9.6% have decommissioned production lines deemed no longer interesting. The research showed that in 2020 to face the health emergency and the consequent economic crisis, 56% of the companies in the sample resorted to “agile work”, compared to 15.6% who instead used layoffs, 12 , 2% who reduced the working hours of employees and 4% who cut the number of employees.
The post emergency
After the most acute phase of the pandemic, in 2021 39.2% of companies continued to use smart working, involving 28.9% of employees in remote work. For 76.5% of companies, the relationship between company and workers has not undergone substantial changes. Only 4.4% of workers engaged in remote work never went to the company while 74.4% went there at least once a month. 66.7% go to work once or twice a week. To a large extent, workers appreciate smart working. 81% of the sample appreciate the savings on travel costs, 73% appreciate it because meals away from home are avoided and 52.2% for the better reconciliation of family life times. Finally for 52.9% because it improves productivity.
“From the second half of 2021 – comments Carlo Buttaroni president of Tecnè – new production paradigms seem to take shape: the use of smart working is changing companies, as well as changing the lives of millions of Italians”. “The organization of work has changed – adds Felice Saladini, CEO of MeglioQuesto -. Today we have a more communal and less hierarchical vision. We have rediscovered the value of trust in training and the importance of social dialogue ».