The data are clear: after the peaks of the pandemic and a gradual decline over the last two years, in 2023 remote workers in our country reached 3.585 million. This is a growth, albeit slight, on the 3.570 million of 2022. What stands out is the comparison with the pre-Covid period: 541% more. Not only that: forecasts for 2024 point to 3.65 million smart workers in Italy. Growth continues, then, and it is irreversible.
It is very interesting, and also telling, to know in which sectors smart working is growing and in which it is not.
During 2023, the Observatory certifies, remote workers grew first and foremost in large companies: over one worker in two, equal to 1.88 million people. They are also up, albeit slightly, in SMEs, with 570,000 workers, 10% of the total. Where, by contrast, are they falling? In micro-enterprises (620,000 workers, 9% of the total) and in public administrations (515,000 employees, equal to 16%).
Some 96% of large companies have smart working initiatives in place: 20% are also studying models to extend it to technical and operational roles, which until now seemed bound to be excluded. Forms of smart working, managed at team level, are now present in 56% of SMEs and in 61% of public bodies, especially the larger ones.
Let us once again recall the effects of smart working on the environment. In terms of CO2 reduction, just two days a week of remote working avoid the emission of 480kg of CO2 per person a year, thanks to fewer journeys and less use of offices.
The face of the property market is also changing, and significantly so. Some 14% of those who work remotely have moved house or have decided to do so. They have chosen residential areas, even very far from the main urban centres, or small towns. This represents an important boost for several areas of the country, as well as relieving congestion in many overcrowded urban areas.
Linked to this change is the strengthening of connectivity infrastructure across the country, as well as the creation of new coworking spaces.
But beware: all that glitters is not smart working.
‘True’ smart workers, the Observatory points out – that is, those who, besides working remotely, have flexible hours and work towards objectives – are those with higher levels of wellbeing and engagement than traditional in-office workers.
Whereas those who simply work remotely, without autonomy and responsibility, have lower levels than in-office workers.
Then there is the issue of technostress and overworking, to which remote workers are undoubtedly subject. Here the Observatory stresses the need for ‘enlightened’ management, that is, management that is itself smart (which, not by chance, means ‘intelligent’). If a boss sets clear, achievable objectives, gives frequent feedback and fosters professional growth, the smart workers under them will enjoy ever better levels of wellbeing and performance. If not, remote working can be a calamity, or nearly so.
“It is therefore necessary to ‘bring smart working back into focus’”, say those responsible for the research, “identifying it for what it really is: not a compromise or a necessary evil, nor an acquired right or an end in itself, but a tool of innovation to redesign the relationship between workers and organisation”.
