“Between April and June 2021, according to the findings of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, 485,000 resignations were recorded out of a total of approximately 2.6 million terminated contracts. The share of voluntary abandonment of total employment exceeded 2% for the first time in years, at levels not far from those of the United States. Faced with this trend, and looking at the Istat data that tell us that we have more than 300 thousand unemployed compared to the pre-pandemic, it is time for the 4-day working week to be at the center of our political debate “.
Beppe Grillo writes it on his blog where he also recalls the prediction “that in 2030 the greatest challenge that humanity would have had would have been to occupy one’s free time, working 3 hours a day and thus favoring progress towards a better society. and free from work. Today – he says – thanks to technology we can do it, with a concrete solution: reducing the working week and freeing up time for other activities more suited to what we could finally call life “.
This is the full text of Grillo’s article:
Since April 2021, more than 19 million workers have left their jobs in the United States. Anthony Klotz, a professor of management at A&M University in Texas, called it the Great Resignation, a growing trend that is disrupting companies around the world.
Klotz attributed these voluntary resignations to four main causes: a backlog of workers who wanted to resign before the pandemic; burnout (exhaustion), particularly among frontline workers in healthcare, catering and retail; “Pandemic epiphanies” in which people have experienced major changes in identity and purpose that have led them to embark on new careers and start their own businesses; and an aversion to returning to offices after a year or more in smart working.
A real collapse of society that has led many American giants such as Target, Walmart, Amazon etc … to stem the problem, without solving it, offering free lessons for their employees, donating copious benefits, paying university fees or simply increasing salaries . But that’s not enough. According to a McKinsey study, employees crave an investment in the human aspects of work, they are tired, they want a renewed sense of purpose. They want social and interpersonal connections with their colleagues and managers. They want to have a sense of shared identity. Yes, they want pay, benefits and perks, but more of these they want to feel appreciated by their companies and their bosses. They want meaningful interactions.
Another IBM study says the same, 1 in 5 employees voluntarily changed jobs in 2020, and Generation Z (33%) and Millennials (25%) are the age groups that are most involved. 1 in 4 people globally intend to change jobs, despite the economic crisis resulting in the loss of 255 million jobs in 2020. The main reasons for this choice are the need for a program or a more flexible, greater benefits and support for your well-being.
And our country? It is not exempt: between April and June 2021, according to the findings of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, 485,000 resignations were recorded out of a total of approximately 2.6 million terminated contracts. The share of voluntary abandonment of total employment exceeded 2% for the first time in years, at levels not far from those of the United States.
Faced with this trend, and looking at the Istat data that tell us that we have more than 300,000 unemployed compared to the pre-pandemic, it is time for the 4-day working week to be at the center of our political debate.
In 1930 Keynes wrote that in 2030 the greatest challenge humanity would have would be to occupy their free time, working 3 hours a day and thus promoting progress towards a better and work-free society.
Today, thanks to technology we can do it, with a concrete solution: reduce the working week and free up time for other activities more suitable for what we could finally call life.