PRESS RELEASE
Inapp presented the 5th Labour Quality Survey – more than 15 thousand employees and 5 thousand enterprises in the country were involved in the survey
INAPP: “QUALITY OF WORK: still a way to go, especially in the South, and for women and young people.
FADDA: ‘The results indicate that companies that have focused on innovation, organisational change and good human resource management have managed to build a ‘virtuous fortress’ capable of withstanding shocks and generating high quality of work. These companies have paid less for the effects of the pandemic thanks to their organisational set up, the propensity to favour hybrid work and a strong inclination towards innovation and change. There is therefore no need for low wages, precarious work conditions or restrictions on workers’ rights to ensure the solidity and competitiveness for companies; quite the opposite in fact’.
Rome 18 January 2023 – Quality of work? The situation in Italy is heterogeneous, with the Centre-North doing well, while the South, women and young people lagging behind. This is the result of the analysis carried out by the researchers of the National Institute for the Analysis of Public Policies (INAPP). The data shows that our country finds itself between Scandinavian countries, Germany, Austria, Switzerland where the quality work life is higher and Eastern Europe, which are at the bottom of the ranking mainly due to a lack of labour market and working conditions protections (OECD). Notably, 24% of our workers perceive their health at risk in the workplace, particularly in the South (28%) and among civil servants (30%). In addition, more than a third of workers (37%) say they have no flexibility with regard to working hours; this aspect is even more pronounced among women (42%), especially if they are civil servants (50%). A further critical element highlighted by our workers concerns career progression or lack thereof, which affects 69% of employed individuals and has even higher values among civil servants and young people aged 18-34 (73%). In addition to all this, there is a growing routinisation of work activities, which particularly affects workers in the south of Italy, where 71% of the employed individuals and those who work in very small production units (1-5 workers (68%) declare that they carry out mainly repetitive tasks.
These are some of the findings in the 5th INAPP Survey on ‘Quality of Work’, which involved over 15 thousand employees (over 17 years old) and 5 thousand companies across the country. The survey, introduced by president prof. Sebastiano Fadda, was presented this morning in Rome during a study day at the Institute’s Auditorium and was attended, among others, by Romolo de Camillis, Director General of Labour Relations and Industrial Relations of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, Tania Scacchetti, confederal secretary labour market policies and inclusive bargaining of the CGIL, Giulio Romani, confederal secretary labour market policies, vocational training, and employment services of the CISL, Ivana Veronese, confederal secretary for active and passive labour market policies, training, education and skills of the UIL, Pierangelo Albini, director of the labour, welfare and human capital area of Confindustria, Guido Lazzarelli, head of the labour, bargaining and trade union relations sector of Confcommercio, and Antonio Zampiga, head of the labour and industrial relations sector of Legacoop.
“The results indicate that companies that have focused on innovation, organisational change and good human resource management have managed to build a ‘virtuous fortress’ capable of withstanding shocks and generating high quality of work,” explained the INAPP chairman. ‘Those companies that were capable of combining business sharing and participation, high organisational flexibility, an inclination towards hybrid ways of working, innovation and change, have paid less of a price for the recent health crisis. Only 11% of them claim to have suffered strong negative effects from the crisis due to the Covid emergency, compared to a national average incidence that is almost double (21%). On the other hand, ‘traditional’ companies are the ones that have suffered the most’.
In order to increase the quality of work, analyses indicate that it is necessary to improve human resources management and focus on innovation. Those who have done so – roughly 8% of Italian companies – have increased their competitiveness and the wellbeing of their employees. These are ‘smart’ companies, as defined by Inapp. Enterprises that are also characterised by broad participation in the planning of activities (54.1% of cases), the discussion of organisational changes (73.6%) and pay attention to the issue of work-life balance (81% of companies consider work-life balance to be their responsibility). For these companies, these are not costs but investments. The introduction of innovations and changes has led to an increase in productivity by 85% of cases and in 78% an increase in turnover. Furthermore, there was an increase in both the wellbeing and motivation of workers among 70% of these companies. Workers also have greater job stability (in 91% of them there are no temporary contracts, and in 78% of cases fixed term contracts are a step to a permanent one).
In addition to these smart companies, the Inapp study highlights three other types: the “traditional quality” companies (50% of Italian companies) with a high level of permanent workers, low uptake of hybrid work and a fair level of innovation; the “hybrids” characterised by a high level of fixed-term workers and a low propensity to hybrid work (20% of Italian companies) and, finally, the “resilient” in terms of both human resources management and innovation (16% of Italian companies).
For more information:
Giancarlo Salemi – INAPP President Spokesperson (347 6312823)
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