The new challenges for the world of work

One year has passed since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this timespan, the Government introduced a series of economic measures to help the business industries most severely affected by the halt to activities. It is necessary to become aware of the new situation and try to consolidate the novelties and issues which had to be faced in this period.

Among the areas most affected by the pandemic is, first of all, the healthcare sector, followed by the economic sector and the world of work.

Remote working (commonly called “smart working” in Italy) was the main tool used to contain the spread of the pandemic. On the one hand, it allowed to keep on with the work for all those activities to which it is applicable, but on the other hand, given its forced application, its aim to guarantee employees a better work-life balance has been distorted. This led, in the medium period, to a detrimental mixture of these two factors, resulting in additional stress for employees and in a reduction in the quality of their work.

From an analysis of the experience of these months, it can be affirmed that the use of remote working has often been distorted. The working activity has been carried out mostly from home, often using inadequate devices and sharing working spaces with relatives working or studying from home as well.

A further aspect on which an organisational intervention is needed is the fact that remote working has led to a significant reduction in sharing working issues and in interaction with colleagues.

It also increased cyber security risks. Many companies have actually been forced to grant access to corporate servers to workers connected via unsecured networks or, in any case, not compliant with their security protocols.

Greater attention should also be paid to corporate welfare in order to keep into account the need to offer services, e.g. healthcare packages to employees and their family members, besides free time. Corporate welfare could play a great integration role with a significant impact in terms of advantages on labour costs, quality of work and employee engagement.

Companies which will succeed in anticipating change will surely have a vantage point in facing future challenges, since they will have turned issues into opportunities with a proactive approach, having promptly implemented choices and strategies which, if it weren’t for the pandemic, would not have been made. Many opportunities will arise, it will only be a matter of being able to seize them.

As Albert Einstein said:

“Let’s not pretend that things will change if we keep on doing the same things. A crisis can be a real blessing to any person, to any nation. For all crises bring progress. Creativity is born from anguish, just like the day is born form the dark night. It’s in crisis that inventiveness is born, as well as discoveries and big strategies.

He who overcomes crisis, overcomes himself, without getting overcome. There’s no challenge without a crisis. Without challenges, life becomes a routine, a slow agony. There’s no merit without crisis. It’s in the crisis where we can show the very best in us. Without a crisis, any wind becomes a tender touch.

To speak about a crisis is to promote it. Not to speak about it is to exalt conformism. Let’s work hard instead. Let’s stop, once and for all, with the only menacing crisis, that is the tragedy of not being willing to fight for it”.