Corporate changes, a tale from within
The analysis of what happened in a production organisation grappling with the pandemic and the changes in workplace culture
Reorganising work to tackle changes taking place outside a company and thus generate further changes inside the company: it is something that happens in all production organisations and that alters corporate culture itself, as well as one’s personal approach to work.
Starting from this underlying premise, Alberto Martiello and Giuseppe Parigi analyse what happened after the COVID-19 pandemic in a particular organisation such as the Bank of Italy. “Il modello ibrido: una reazione vitale dal mondo del lavoro” (“The hybrid model: a vital response from the world of work”) – a research study recently published as part of the Tematiche istituzionali (Institutional topics) magazine published by the Bank itself – is a good analytical example that can also reveal much about other similar situations.
Changing the way we work, applying new technological tools, dealing with employees situated in different locations, new methods of communication among employees, evolved social approaches: these are the topics at the basis of the Bank of Italy’s experience, as well as of Martiello and Parigi’s analysis, all without neglecting the need for new trade union agreements or forgetting the risks connected to changing how work is structured – risks that are related, above all, to the nature of employees as “social beings” and thus also needing a direct relationship with their colleagues.
Besides all this, the two authors also focus on the role of managers as well as on the requirement for training paths differing from traditional ones and novel forms of corporate cohesion.
Martiello and Parigi’s analysis has the great merit to narrate, from within, the intense change experienced by an enterprise (albeit a particular one) that shifted to a hybrid mode of working. It’s an honest account that leaves no room for redundant rhetoric and, despite its conciseness, it does not overlook anything. Its conclusion includes the following passage: “As it always happens in phases of rapid change, uncertainties arise that generate moments of perplexity and confusion, and this can lead to anxiety and apprehension towards the future. Not everyone has been able to bear this situation and many have experienced periods of (great) mental distress in relation to their work; others have reacted by excessively increasing the workload (or simply quitting their job). Managers must reconsider their role, finding new balances in which tools used in the past are reviewed or even completely abandoned in favour of new ones.”
“Il modello ibrido: una reazione vitale dal mondo del lavoro” (“The hybrid model: a vital response from the world of work”)
Alberto Martiello, Giuseppe Parigi
Tematiche istituzionali, Banca d’Italia, June 2022
The analysis of what happened in a production organisation grappling with the pandemic and the changes in workplace culture
Reorganising work to tackle changes taking place outside a company and thus generate further changes inside the company: it is something that happens in all production organisations and that alters corporate culture itself, as well as one’s personal approach to work.
Starting from this underlying premise, Alberto Martiello and Giuseppe Parigi analyse what happened after the COVID-19 pandemic in a particular organisation such as the Bank of Italy. “Il modello ibrido: una reazione vitale dal mondo del lavoro” (“The hybrid model: a vital response from the world of work”) – a research study recently published as part of the Tematiche istituzionali (Institutional topics) magazine published by the Bank itself – is a good analytical example that can also reveal much about other similar situations.
Changing the way we work, applying new technological tools, dealing with employees situated in different locations, new methods of communication among employees, evolved social approaches: these are the topics at the basis of the Bank of Italy’s experience, as well as of Martiello and Parigi’s analysis, all without neglecting the need for new trade union agreements or forgetting the risks connected to changing how work is structured – risks that are related, above all, to the nature of employees as “social beings” and thus also needing a direct relationship with their colleagues.
Besides all this, the two authors also focus on the role of managers as well as on the requirement for training paths differing from traditional ones and novel forms of corporate cohesion.
Martiello and Parigi’s analysis has the great merit to narrate, from within, the intense change experienced by an enterprise (albeit a particular one) that shifted to a hybrid mode of working. It’s an honest account that leaves no room for redundant rhetoric and, despite its conciseness, it does not overlook anything. Its conclusion includes the following passage: “As it always happens in phases of rapid change, uncertainties arise that generate moments of perplexity and confusion, and this can lead to anxiety and apprehension towards the future. Not everyone has been able to bear this situation and many have experienced periods of (great) mental distress in relation to their work; others have reacted by excessively increasing the workload (or simply quitting their job). Managers must reconsider their role, finding new balances in which tools used in the past are reviewed or even completely abandoned in favour of new ones.”
“Il modello ibrido: una reazione vitale dal mondo del lavoro” (“The hybrid model: a vital response from the world of work”)
Alberto Martiello, Giuseppe Parigi
Tematiche istituzionali, Banca d’Italia, June 2022