The importance of an all-round work culture
A recent book by Fondazione Feltrinelli focuses on what “work” means today
Work is perhaps one of the most important aspects of modern life that is most strongly affected by the changes under way. Work as an important part of life, as a fundamental element of a company, as an instrument of dignity of men and women. Hence – of course – the need to know all about the changes, the paths, the relations with the context that work endures on the one hand abd builds up on the other. Reading “Il lavoro conta? Sfide, pratiche e politiche per un lavoro di qualità” (Does work count? Challenges, policies and practices for quality work) which has just recently been published as part of the Utopie collection by Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, is therefore a useful step for those wishing to acquire a conceptual framework of work which might prove useful for understanding the reality of the situation.
The book contains the results of the third edition of the Jobless Society Forum “Does work count?” and it has a clear objective: “To attribute a new centrality to work as a source of income, as a factor of development and together as the fertile soil for individual emancipation and community cohesion”. The volume thus collects the contributions to the Forum and the tales of the 9 thematic tables that during the day of the Forum discussed training, skills, youth employment, women’s employment, migrant workers, innovation and welfare policies, enterprises and inclusive growth, irregular work/ work at risk of contractual misconduct, gig economy and platform work. There is only one common thread: asking ourselves about the challenges, policies and practices for quality work.
The text is explained in a simple and clear way: it starts with a summary focusing on the subjects of training, social welfare, young people and women, equity and migrants, protection and exploitation; then it addresses the various reports that derive from the all-round debates held during the discussions.
The conclusions of the Jobless Society Forum are multiple. First of all, the book explains that “work counts with a dual objective: on the one hand, to combat and to deal in a collective manner with the discontinuity and irregularities currently affecting work and that can lead to economic and social fragility. On the other hand, to promote a growth strategy that has work as its primary core objective, in its dimensions of quantity and quality”.But that’s not all, in a period in which welfare seems to have been rediscovered, the publication by Fondazione Feltrinelli explains: “Welfare Policies may then be increasingly useful to the collective welfare with a cultural vision that see these measures in the context of a social investment in the country’s human capital”; and adds an important contribution for the manufacturing system: “Companies are in the forefront in tackling this challenge and in seizing the opportunities offered by all that is digital, with the support of the State and the social partners, in promoting high-quality employment for young people, women and immigrants”.
The more general conclusion of the book should also be emphasised: “We cannot reflect on work only in its relationship with technology – it explains -, but we must try to adopt a vision that is as holistic as possible, which allows us to define an economic and societal outlook where work can go back to having a new centrality also in its relationship with globalisation and the ensuing consequences”.
Il lavoro conta? Sfide, pratiche e politiche per un lavoro di qualità (Does work count? Challenges, policies and practices for quality work)
Curated by Andrea Zucca
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, Utopie/73 Work, July 2018


A recent book by Fondazione Feltrinelli focuses on what “work” means today
Work is perhaps one of the most important aspects of modern life that is most strongly affected by the changes under way. Work as an important part of life, as a fundamental element of a company, as an instrument of dignity of men and women. Hence – of course – the need to know all about the changes, the paths, the relations with the context that work endures on the one hand abd builds up on the other. Reading “Il lavoro conta? Sfide, pratiche e politiche per un lavoro di qualità” (Does work count? Challenges, policies and practices for quality work) which has just recently been published as part of the Utopie collection by Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, is therefore a useful step for those wishing to acquire a conceptual framework of work which might prove useful for understanding the reality of the situation.
The book contains the results of the third edition of the Jobless Society Forum “Does work count?” and it has a clear objective: “To attribute a new centrality to work as a source of income, as a factor of development and together as the fertile soil for individual emancipation and community cohesion”. The volume thus collects the contributions to the Forum and the tales of the 9 thematic tables that during the day of the Forum discussed training, skills, youth employment, women’s employment, migrant workers, innovation and welfare policies, enterprises and inclusive growth, irregular work/ work at risk of contractual misconduct, gig economy and platform work. There is only one common thread: asking ourselves about the challenges, policies and practices for quality work.
The text is explained in a simple and clear way: it starts with a summary focusing on the subjects of training, social welfare, young people and women, equity and migrants, protection and exploitation; then it addresses the various reports that derive from the all-round debates held during the discussions.
The conclusions of the Jobless Society Forum are multiple. First of all, the book explains that “work counts with a dual objective: on the one hand, to combat and to deal in a collective manner with the discontinuity and irregularities currently affecting work and that can lead to economic and social fragility. On the other hand, to promote a growth strategy that has work as its primary core objective, in its dimensions of quantity and quality”.But that’s not all, in a period in which welfare seems to have been rediscovered, the publication by Fondazione Feltrinelli explains: “Welfare Policies may then be increasingly useful to the collective welfare with a cultural vision that see these measures in the context of a social investment in the country’s human capital”; and adds an important contribution for the manufacturing system: “Companies are in the forefront in tackling this challenge and in seizing the opportunities offered by all that is digital, with the support of the State and the social partners, in promoting high-quality employment for young people, women and immigrants”.
The more general conclusion of the book should also be emphasised: “We cannot reflect on work only in its relationship with technology – it explains -, but we must try to adopt a vision that is as holistic as possible, which allows us to define an economic and societal outlook where work can go back to having a new centrality also in its relationship with globalisation and the ensuing consequences”.
Il lavoro conta? Sfide, pratiche e politiche per un lavoro di qualità (Does work count? Challenges, policies and practices for quality work)
Curated by Andrea Zucca
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, Utopie/73 Work, July 2018