The research of theSmart Working Observatory of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano was presented on 3 November, during the online conference 'Smart Working the future of work beyond the emergency'.
Mariano Corso, Scientific Director of the Observatory, commented: "The Covid19 emergency has accelerated a transformation of the work organisation model that in normal times would have taken years, demonstrating that Smart Working can concern a potentially very wide range of workers, provided that processes are digitalised and staff are equipped with appropriate tools and skills. It is now necessary to rethink work in order not to waste the experience of these months and to move on to real Smart Working, which must provide for greater flexibility and autonomy in the choice of place and time of work, fundamental elements to encourage greater accountability for results. We need to put people at the centre, with their needs, talents and unique features, structuring training, involvement and welfare plans that help people to express their potentialto the full".
However,Fiorella Crespi, Director of the Smart Working Observatory, also stressed the risk of treating agile work "as a regulatory obligation or a temporary and emergency measure" , whereas it should instead be considered as a historic opportunity "with benefits not only for work, but for the entire ecosystem of services, cities and territories".
From lockdown to phase 2
The so-called agile workers in the most critical phase of the pandemic emergency, last spring, were 2.11 million (54% of employees) in large enterprises (mainly finance and ICT sectors), 1.85 million in public administration, 1.13 million in SMEs and 1.5 million in micro enterprises. With the end of the lockdown and the beginning of phase 2 of the emergency management, companies and public administrations have gradually started to reopen their offices. 66% of large enterprises and 81% of public administrations allowed staff to return to their offices between May and June, 7% of large enterprises and 13% of public administrations preferred to reopen during the summer, while 20% of large enterprises and 4% of public administrations waited until September. Only 7% of enterprises and 1% of PAs continued to favour remote working at the end of September.
Were companies ready for Smart Working?
The use of forced home working has revealed the technological fragility of organisations, even of the largest and most structured companies. 69% of them had to increase the availability of laptops and other hardware tools, 65% of systems to remotely and securely access business applications and 45% of tools for collaboration and communication. The most frequently introduced tools were laptops (in 26% of the sample) and video conferencing tools (16%). 38% gave workers the possibility to use personal devices. 50% of SMEs had to suspend activity and therefore did not take action on technology. Companies that have increased their technological equipment have focused on hardware tools (15%), software for remote collaboration (14%), systems for secure remote access to data (14%) or encouraged the use of personal devices (14%). More than four out of ten public administrations had to increase the hardware tools available to their staff (42%), almost half of them intervened on software (49%), mainly video-conferencing applications (60%), systems for secure remote access to data (such as VPNs, 46%) and laptops (29%). Three quarters of administrations encouraged employees to use personal devices, due to spending constraints and technology backwardness. Forty-three per cent of administrations have not supplemented employees' personal equipment, which they have had to equip with their own resources, and only 38 per cent have taken steps to ensure secure remote data access.
What will happen after the pandemic?
Organisations are gearing up to translate the new habits and expectations of workers into a new approach to work. One in two large companies will intervene on physical spaces after the emergency is over (51%), differentiating them (29%), expanding them (12%) or reducing them (10%); 38% do not plan new projects but will change the way they are used; only 11% will return to working as before. 36% of large companies will modify their current Smart Working projects and digitalise their processes. As many as 70% of those with an agile working project will increase the number of days they can work remotely, from just one day a week before the pandemic to an average of 2.7 days after the emergency is over. 65% will involve more people in the initiatives, 42% will include profiles previously excluded, 17% will act on working hours.
For the PA, the first measure will be to introduce smart working projects (48%), followed by the digitalisation of processes and activities (42%) and the increase of technologies in use (35%). Public administrations will also increase the number of staff involved in smart working projects (72%), which before the emergency was only 12%, and the number of agile working days (47%), from a weekly average of less than one day to around 1.4 days per week.
You might also be interested in:
Digital in industry: from opportunity to necessity
