An original interpretation of the new collective bargaining tools

Occupational welfare as an expression of corporate culture. This important goal has not always been achieved, but it is the result of a close dialogue between companies, trade unions and institutions, a dialogue that is based on collective bargaining..

Olga Rubagotti from the University of Verona, addresses these issues in her paper “Occupational welfare and evolutionary trends”, published in Labour and Law Issues. In particular, the essay analyses state-supported occupational welfare in recent times through redistribution tax policies. After providing a general overview of the subject, the research looks at the opportunities offered by this new tool (both from the point of view of social consultation and with regard to the new areas of union action). It then considers the role of business networks in the field of welfare, before addressing the state of labour relations in Italy today.

Occupational welfare policies, one of the issues in the paper, ten do

indirectly delegate a social protection function to collective agreements: corporate welfare would be the expression of fundamental rights such as education, health, pension plans. In addition to this, Rubagotti goes so far as to suggest that the duties of company welfare need to be extended to continue along the path already taken.

“Occupational Welfare and Evolutionary Trends” is certainly a paper for experts, but it outlines a business culture in other forms, demonstrating once again how important it is to understand the actions of production organisations globally.

Welfare occupazionale e tendenze evolutive (Occupational welfare and evolutionary trends)

Olga Rubagotti

Labour and Law Issues, vol. 7, no. 1, 2021

The latest Report by the Einaudi Centre in Turin provides the elements to better understand the present and act carefully when thinking about tomorrow

Understanding where you are and where you are going. It’s essential practice for anyone acting within a business, yet not always easy to accomplish, though its feasibility increases when good guides are at hand. This is the case with Un mondo sempre più fragile. XXV Rapporto sull’economia globale e l’Italia (An increasingly fragile world. 25^th Report on the global economy and Italy), by the Einaudi Centre, a collection of studies curated by Mario Deaglio and collaboratively written by a qualified team of researchers and analysts.

As every year, the collected research work takes stock of the “state of the world”, this time still dealing with the pandemic and its consequences. In other words, it embodies an up-to-date snapshot of the situation in which everyone – citizens and businesses – find themselves in.

The essays collected thus start by acknowledging the presence of “an increasingly fragile world” and therefore of an “unhinged globalisation”, as well as of the situation in which the US, China and Europe find themselves in. The authors then explore the nature and traits of an era “of permanent instability” in order to focus on the condition of Italy.

The collected investigations undertaken by the research group coordinated by the Einaudi Centre certainly provide an image of the world and of Italy that’s still problematic, but also indicates a few possible development paths.  Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, president of Intesa Sanpaolo, who supported the research activities, writes that “attention to economic and environmental sustainability has pervaded our lives because we have understood that the time we have to implement a paradigm shift is running out. Global warming and the appropriate use of scarce or polluting raw materials, combined with the need to rethink work times and places, will permanently change the way we live. A partnership between public and private sectors appears, therefore, as the only viable way to define shared objectives – something that is increasingly felt by the private sector and, more in particular, by enterprises, as an essential part of their day-to-day work and which could, or rather should, lead to the concept of well-being replacing the concept of wealth, at an individual and collective level.” On closer inspection, these are the outlines of an economic and corporate culture that’s already spreading but still needs to fully establish and strengthen itself. These collected essays by the Einaudi Centre represent a good conceptual toolbox, useful to build a corporate culture that is mindful of our present times and committed to a better future.

Un mondo sempre più fragile. XXV Rapporto sull’economia globale e l’Italia (An increasingly fragile world. 25^th Report on the global economy and Italy)

Deaglio Mario (curated by)

Guerini, 2021

A book explains how much CEOs must change in the face of new market and consumer demands

People, not machines. The old dispute between hostile mechanisation and industrial humanism is, on close examination, still relevant today. A dispute perpetually renewed, that continually presents itself though, perhaps, in guises different than the previous ones. And today, it also takes on features related to the search for a stronger sensitivity towards environmental and social compatibility of doing business. Circumstances that insightful entrepreneurs and managers must take into account.

These are the topics that Gabriele Ghini, Stefania Micaela Vitulli and Alessandro Detto discuss in their recently published Ceo branding nella reputation economy (CEO branding in the reputation economy).

The authors’ underlying concept concerns the significant role played by the presence of citizens and consumers with ethical intentions, as well as the “call to leadership” with which the Z and Y (Millennial) generations entreat companies (and their brands). In other words, its now increasingly true that the success of a company on the market is built on its ability to distil influence, credibility and charisma into a human trait that is simultaneously global and local. A goal that, certainly, is complex to achieve but that has now become crucial for the survival (and growth) of many businesses.

Within this context, CEOs take on a significant role, as figures who, in order to bring about the conquest of a solid reputational space for their own reference brand, must be able to transform themselves from seducers to pioneers, as the book’s argument goes. This because nowadays companies, and no longer just NGOs or political parties, are considered drivers of sustainable change.

The book can be read as a concise handbook for CEOs, but also as a collection of tangible experiences as, indeed, its theses are developed first from a theoretical viewpoint and then through the experiences of 15 CEOs, who tell us how they have taken up the challenge by applying a strategic and adaptive vision. In addition to all this, two field studies illustrate some of the key points useful in defining market response strategies.

This work by Ghini, Vitulli and Detto is very readable and, especially in this case, also represents an excellent guide for those who are managing companies while dealing with continuous change.

Ceo branding nella reputation economy (CEO branding in the reputation economy)

Gabriele Ghini , Stefania Micaela Vitulli, Alessandro Detto

Egea, 2021

Italy has always boasted a long-standing work culture tradition that today, too, represents a benchmark for those enterprises that even in times of crisis pay heed to the good rules of industrial relations. This is the kind of corporate culture Marco Tronchetti Provera, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice Chair of Pirelli, referred to when he addressed the recent matter of the dismissals carried out by two companies, GKN and Giannetti, controlled by international funds – dismissals announced to their employees via text and WhatsApp messages. Going beyond the issue of whether the economic reasons leading to the companies’ shut down actually are legitimate or not, their chosen means of communication is highly debatable. As Tronchetti asserts: “I believe that a culture of responsibility should also include the choices funds make as, after all, people are behind their decisions. A sense of responsibility should always be present: this doesn’t mean ignoring the interests of investors, but rather the opposite.” More in brief, “Even those not directly involved with Italian affairs should, I believe, respect the country’s social structure all the same” (interview in la Repubblica, 13 July).

Basically, there are rules but also good forms, and both need to be observed, even during a severe business crisis. “The responsibility of a company, of an entrepreneur,” argues Tronchetti, ”is to make the least harmful choices for those who work within the company. There are social buffers, tools that help people and families go through a period of crisis by giving them hope for the future.” And within this framework of care, “dialogue remains nonetheless essential, even when dismissal becomes the only viable option.” Therefore, “there is a path, obviously an increasingly strenuous path, but it’s the only one to follow.”

Italian history chronicles a long and complex evolution of industrial relations that has very often discovered innovative solutions out of a crisis precisely in the dialogue between companies and trade unions, through a critical review of the factors determining competitiveness. Evidence to this effect can be seen in the heritage and relevance of companies like Pirelli, as well as many other responsible enterprises.

Indeed, as the Italian economy developed, such dialogue – often harsh and bitter perhaps, yet always heartfelt – between social partners and their representatives, gave rise to decisions that led to the recovery and relaunch of the country, even during the hardest times.

Decisions related to industrial policy, to improve the competitive environment for the benefit of the company. Financial decisions, for market efficiency and transparency. And decisions about welfare, to reduce the impact of crises and change on people, workers, and their families, but also to safeguard skills useful to find work, such as the professionalism and expertise inherent in a certain job rather than just the old role attached to it.

The specific events concerning GKN and Giannetti, together with many other stories of corporate crisis, rest in the hands of the Ministry of Economic Development. And every crisis has its own roots, its peculiarities, its reasons and mistakes, but also scope – or lack thereof – for solutions.

Nevertheless, as Tronchetti points out, all crises share a common feature: a company’s responsibility towards the territories and communities from which it has drawn strength, knowledge, creativity and productive drive. And furthermore, a commitment to try and resolve the crisis, or at least a civilised way of dealing with its final stages when, once all attempts at recovery have failed, closing down becomes the only option. Social buffers will play their part.

Yet – here’s the crux of the matter – these buffers must be reformed, improved and made much more effective, especially at a time when the thrust of globalisation and the spread of new digital technologies are radically transforming economic contexts, businesses’ competitive characteristics, forms of labour and the organisation of products and services.

The Draghi government is aware of the need and urgency of such a reform: not ‘welfare-flavoured subsidies’, but rather investments to support vocational training, relocation, and to overcome the existing mismatch between employment supply and demand, and between companies failing to find the professional staff they need and workers ineffectually looking for work.

Let us therefore go back to industrial relations, dialogue, reforms, and corporate responsibility.

The theory and practice of economics say that every business has its own life cycle and that there are no “independent variables”, such as salary, unrelated to a company’s productivity and competitiveness (as unions had theorised and attempted to put into practice in the 1970s), or profit, if obsessively sought after within the short period of time that’s typical of financial speculation. Also, the stubborn holding on to a job when the company is no longer able to stay in business, or a public intervention to take over a company in crisis in spite of economic reasons (the disastrous experiences of EGAM and EFIM in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as those of some other municipalised companies, are a stark warning).

Yet, theory and practice have always shown how profit, salary, work and competitiveness can go well together in a company that invests in, innovates, follows – or, better still, anticipates – the market, implementing all changes (related to products, production, governance, marketing, communication) necessary to the evolution of consumption and customs, all within a context where industrial policy encourages innovation.

Here lies the crux of the crisis: in investments, in renewal, in a business culture attentive to change, competitive challenges in times of environmental and digital transition.

And a hasty WhatsApp dismissal has absolutely nothing to do with all this.

September will see the return of the prestigious MITO SettembreMusica Festival, an international festival of classical music that unites the cities of Milan and Turin with a full programme of concerts. In this fifteenth edition, Pirelli is lending its support to two concerts devoted to children and young people. The first will be “Futurottole”, on Sunday 19 September at the Teatro Bruno Munari, which will explore the future as a great game with reworkings of old pieces and with new compositions. The second, “Pachua”, will be performed on Saturday 25 September at the Teatro Dal Verme with the orchestra of I Piccoli Pomeriggi Musicali, directed by Maestro Daniele Parziani and Elio as the narrator.

The choice made by Pirelli once again reflects the close attention it has always paid to the younger generations, also through its Foundation. Over the years, this focus has come in the form of support for, and promotion of, young talents, the sponsorship of scholarships, the promotion of education and training, and the Pirelli Foundation Educational project for schools.

Pirelli has always supported and promoted musical culture, also in the workplace. In the 1950s, the Pirelli Cultural Centre started putting on concerts by great artists, including one by John Cage, the avant-garde American musician, and in the 1960s and 1970s the Pirelli Music Festival was organised in the Pirelli Tower, with such artists as Friedrich Gulda, Antonio Janigro, Gérard Poulet and Salvatore Accardo. Its partnership with Maestro Salvatore Accardo has continued over the years and culminated in 2017 with the performance by the Orchestra da Camera Italiana, conducted by the Maestro, of Il Canto della fabbrica in an absolute premiere for the MITO Festival. This piece was composed by Maestro Francesco Fiore and inspired by the sounds and rhythms of the shopfloor at the Pirelli Industrial Centre in Settimo Torinese.

A research paper recently published in the Technology in Society journal shows how strong the bonds between the vital components of a company are

Corporate culture that also becomes culture of production organisation: a business’s ability to organise itself wittingly and mindfully is no small feat, and it has become a particular feature that denotes what we think of as a “good company”. Indeed, good organisation – to be understood as all-round organisation – is often a clear indication, just like financial results, of a company that truly, rather than seemingly, integrates a culture of production.

Hence, the study and quantification of the relationships between organisational culture and corporate culture is of paramount importance. This is what has been accomplished in “Expanding competitive advantage through organizational culture, knowledge sharing and organizational innovation”, a research study recently published in the Technology in Society journal.

The aim of the investigation – undertaken from both a theoretical and an empirical viewpoint – is to explore the relationship between organisational culture, knowledge sharing,  organisational innovation and competitive advantage. In other words, it seeks the answer to a single question: how important is good organisational culture for a company whose objective is integral growth?

The answer was pursued through a survey involving 294 industrial managers, who were asked to complete a questionnaire, and the outcome confirmed that organisational culture, knowledge sharing and organisational innovation have a positive impact on competitive advantage. More in detail, organisational culture fosters knowledge sharing and innovation activities between the workforce and links them to high-level corporate processes that could enhance the acquisition of advanced production capacities. More succinctly, the investigation shows how much organisational culture is essential to a company’s operational success, as well as the extent of knowledge sharing and organisational innovation as key factors to gain competitive advantage.

“Expanding competitive advantage through organizational culture, knowledge sharing and organizational innovation” does not add any particular theoretical wisdom to the understanding of corporate activities, but nonetheless contributes to increase the wealth of knowledge useful to better understand what happens within a good company.

Expanding competitive advantage through organizational culture, knowledge sharing and organizational innovation (Expanding competitive advantage through organizational culture, knowledge sharing and organizational innovation)

Muhammad Azeem, Munir Ahmed, Sajid Haider, Muhammad Sajjad (COMSATS University Islamabad, Campus Vehari, Pakistan)

Technology in Society, Volume 66, August 2021, 101635

A collaborative book helps to better understand current changes, starting from the digitalisation of society and production

Technologies on a human scale and companies mindful of “social”, as well as “economic”, profit: these are now rather common approaches that, if not yet practised, are at least explored. Indeed, themes concerning technologies and better corporate culture are issues to be carefully considered, ideally with the help of an up-to-date, contemporary conceptual toolbox. This is why reading Etica digitale. Verità, responsabilità e fiducia nell’era delle macchine intelligenti (Digital ethics. Truth, responsibility and having trust in the era of intelligent machines), just published and curated by Marta Bertolaso and Giovanni Lo Storto, is of paramount importance.

The book, as explained in the first pages, stems from the belief that new technologies can and should be at the service of human beings, to improve their life conditions. The crucial issue, however, concerns the difficult balance between well-being and emancipation as defined by new technologies, and the risks these same technologies might pose. Digital technologies – the main topic of this work – are no exception: the available technologies can make a difference in the improvement of people’s life conditions, yet we find ourselves in a paradoxical situation whereby we live in a society at the height of its scientific and technological progress while also still facing huge and widespread social disparities. Disparities that, in fact, the digital era might exacerbate.

In their book, Bertolaso and Lo Storto have therefore attempted to build the balance that is lacking between technology, human beings, and the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the system in which we live. Thus, a multidisciplinary path takes shape, thanks to scholars, professionals, entrepreneurs, innovators and members of institutions, who, starting from the particular legal, economic and policy implications human beings have to deal with today, help readers to ponder on the importance of placing ethical values of humanity, responsibility and trust at the centre of this shared global development project we are all building together.

Etica digitale. Verità, responsabilità e fiducia nell’era delle macchine intelligenti is a good read, not to be undertaken lightly: it is indeed a fine toolbox that aims to accompany readers towards a better understanding of what is currently happening.

Etica digitale. Verità, responsabilità e fiducia nell’era delle macchine intelligenti (Digital ethics. Truth, responsibility and having trust in the era of intelligent machines)

Marta Bertolaso, Giovanni Lo Storto

LUISS University Press, 2021

In Lezioni di un secolo di vita (Lessons of a Century of Life), Edgar Morin’s autobiography (published in France in early June and soon to be published in Italy by Mimesis), the author speaks of “regenerated humanism”. Morin is one of the greatest intellectuals of our times – just turned a hundred years old, his ideas remain sprightly and strictly critical of “the new barbarism” and the obsession with growth without equilibrium. A forward-looking, project-oriented thinker, whose teachings we should be mindful of, just like those by Bauman, Beck, Sen, Stiglitz, and Crouch – all theorists who offer challenging interpretations of the disquieting feeling brought on by uncertainty and who advocate for a much needed social and economic “paradigm shift”.

“Regeneration” was also the buzzword at the general assembly held by Assolombarda, Confindustria’s largest territorial entrepreneurial association, under the vaults of the Acciaierie Falck’s former rolling mill in Sesto San Giovanni, a structure that’s already under transformation as part of one of the most challenging urban and economic reconstruction projects in Europe.

A correlation that needs investigating, in these rugged yet hopeful times. As such, and ignoring linguistics, the term is used by entrepreneurs operating in the most dynamic and European areas in Italy as well as by Morin – a cultured man of Jewish descent, a bit Italian (“For me Italy is a matrix”) and a bit Spanish, “son of Montaigne and Spinoza”, deeply Mediterranean and therefore cosmopolitan, French by affiliation yet a self-proclaimed mere “human being” (in 7, the Corriere della Sera‘s supplement, 2 July) – and seems to lead down a rather stimulating path.

A path that doesn’t merely take us towards “restarting” or ”recovering” from when we left off due to the pandemic and the recession, but rather marked by intense activity that takes into account fragility’s rifts and roots while also creating something new, because “after a crisis that made us face our limits a restart is not enough. We need a change”, as asserted by Alessandro Spada, president of Assolombarda.

A regeneration, then, to take place within a synthesis between memory and future, amidst the awareness of one’s own story and innovation’s creative and critical impetus. The notion of business as a design and dialectical community and Morin’s philosophy do converge, though from very different directions, towards the concept of a new human dimension based on knowledge and responsibility. And they, too, point to a path along which economic activity, the considerations of social organisations and – why not? – the whole contemporary European thought should focus on, taking advantage of a crisis period ruled by incompetence, when the allure of “populist shortcuts” is dwindling (as intriguingly shown in Italian political news) and steering us towards new paths of knowledge and development.

“Industrial humanism”, says the best Italian corporate culture. “Digital humanism”, counteract those entrepreneurs sensitive to the value, and the ethical values, found in algorithms and in the philosophies of thinkers such as Luciano Floridi. “Regenerated humanism”, reiterates Morin, reminding us that “science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul”, championing “the European humanistic culture” as a means to avoid “the degradation of the planet at the mercy of an uncontrolled economic technological development.”

This opens up a debate not only about corporate values and ends, but also about corporate responsibility and economic activities, and it’s up to the country’s polytechnic culture to try and devise a more balanced and sustainable development.

What it all boils down to is that businesses displaying “manufacturing community traits” (a brilliant definition by Dario Di Vico, in Corriere della Sera, 4 July) are no longer sites for the sole generation of well-being and employment, innovation and profit, ever-changing products and services, and better life quality – though still essentially conducive to these. Rather, they have become active agents in creating a balanced environmental and social sustainability. They are key elements in a positive social capital aimed at making a decisive contribution to what not only Pope Francis but also leading voices in economic literature call “the just economy”, a “circular” and “civic” economy (it’s worth rereading Antonio Genovesi, forward-looking Neapolitan Enlightenment writer, and his creative contemporary peers, starting from Stefano Zamagni). Enterprise and work. Enterprise and human advancement. Enterprise and social inclusion, between competitiveness and solidarity. Enterprise and culture. Enterprise and metamorphosis – going back to, once again, the path of “regeneration”.

Taking the time to consider the data pertaining the recovery is a useful exercise to gain an even better understanding. “The Made in Italy rears its head again: crisis over for half of the districts” is the headline in Il Sole24Ore (1 July), which also mentions the results yielded by the periodical monitoring analyses performed by Intesa Sanpaolo. The first quarter of 2021 shows a “marked recovery for specialised manufacturing industries” and “the export of household appliances, metalworks, furniture, tiles and food is already higher than before Covid.” The fashion industry, however, is not doing well, while mechatronics, boating, farming machinery and thermomechanics are holding firm.

These are the districts acting as engines of recovery, armed with widespread resourcefulness, a solid relationship with each relevant territory’s expertise, a social capital whose assets lie in social dynamism and inclusion, in exchanges, and in solidarity. Furthermore, these are economic values that galvanise industrial relations and that in particular places – the Motor Valley in Emilia Romagna, for instance (“16,000 businesses, 66,000 employees, extremely high technical abilities”, declares the Corriere della Sera‘s L’Economia supplement, 28 June) – are bolstered by profitable collaborations between enterprises, universities, and good local and regional governance.

A social capital that renews itself. “Industry 4.0 and young entrepreneurs have triggered the boom of the Made in Italy,” remarks the Fondazione Edison’s vice president Marco Fortis, reminding us how more dynamic businesses have been able to capitalise on the fiscal stimuli engendered by the innovation measures governments introduced in 2015 and 2016, and have done so by investing in digital transformations. Fortis also notes the emergence, within the industrial policy’s framework of reforms and forward-looking choices, of “the skills belonging to young entrepreneurs who, in recent years and thanks to a generational transition, have risen to leading corporate roles and have exploited the thrust of Industry 4.0 with creativity and daring, thoroughly modernising business organisation, processes and products.” And now that the recovery is underway, the results are becoming even more obvious.

A “fair and sustainable” recovery, cherished by Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who considers “social cohesion” as “a moral duty”, as well as a huge economic opportunity that could effectively refashion welfare tools and social benefits in order to cope with the employment situation.

From this viewpoint, too, enterprises play a fundamental role, as confirmed by Symbola’s latest Report (also mentioned in our blog from 22 June), which identified “cohesive companies” as more efficient and innovative, as those that export the most and are better at seizing opportunities for growth in terms of quality and competitive edge.

On the horizon, a stronger social stability for Italy can be glimpsed, as well as the rebuilding of confidence and the implementation of reforms focused on productivity and sustainability. A cultural, social and economic challenge, and, needless to say, a political one, too. At the Assolombarda’s general assembly, president Spada wisely concluded his speech with one of the most incisive quote by Alcide De Gasperi, the former Prime Minister who led Italy towards reconstruction and recovery after the devastation wreaked by fascism and the war: “one must not look to the next elections but to the future generations.” Regeneration, by all means.

a tale of modernity and high-tech in “the city rises” on the 26th floor of the Pirellone

The exhibition Skyscraper Stories: 60 years of the Pirellone, from industrial culture to the institutional activities of Lombardy Region opens on Wednesday 30 June 2021. Curated by the Pirelli Foundation with the architect Alessandro Colombo, it is promoted by the Council and Government of the Lombardy Region and by the Pirelli Foundation, with the contribution of Pirelli and FNM Group. The exhibition tells the story of the building, which began as the Pirelli headquarters and then became the headquarters and symbol of Lombardy Region, with video installations with exclusive testimonies, photographs, illustrations, and archive footage, mostly from the Pirelli Historical Archive.

The exhibition, for which the catalogue published by Marsilio and the dedicated website 60grattacielopirelli.org are already available, celebrates the modernity of technology and industry in Lombardy, the institution of the regional government, and the urban avant-garde of the città che sale,“the city rises”, as expressed by the city of Milan.

The exhibition opens with a model of the building from the Gio Ponti Archives, placed in front of a large wall that welcomes visitors as they come out of the lifts on the 26th floor – the “memory” floor. They are greeted by a reproduction of a sketch by Ponti himself, which sums up his vision of Milan, of which the Pirellone is still an undisputed landmark. He made the drawing during an interview on the building in Piazza Duca d’Aosta, in which Ponti talked with prophetic insight about his vision of Milan in the future: “I dream of a Milan made by my fellow architects. I certainly don’t want a Milan made up of low houses and one skyscraper here, one there, another here, and yet another there. It would be like a mouth with some teeth that are long and others short. Skyscrapers are beautiful if they are one next to the other, like islands. […] What I’m saying is not a dream. I’m saying what it will be in the future”

The exhibition is divided into five “movements”: from the construction of the building, a celebration of the finished work and genius of Gio Ponti, who also designed the furnishings to give workers greater comfort and a better workplace, through to Milan, with its modernity and its ability to change, making it the driving force behind the economic boom in those years. And lastly, in more recent times, when the building became the symbol of the regional government in Lombardy. The visitor is accompanied along the way by video installations, with the voices of those who experienced life in the building and who still have a profound connection with it, as well as a timeline of the most important events in Italian and international history from 1956 to the present day.

The exhibition can be visited by appointment on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m.(last admission 30 minutes before closing). The exhibition will be closed from 1st to 31st August 2021.

Admission is limited to groups of up to 10 people and it is necessary to fill in a self-declaration form relating to the health regulations in force.

To book, please call the Lombardy Region at +39 026 748 2777 or write to:

urp@consiglio.regione.lombardia.it

The entrance is on Via Fabio Filzi 22, Milan

Current and possible futures of the new forms of corporate work

Working from home. This is the situation now facing many companies, beyond the emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. A way of working that is also a sign of a change in the culture of work and production, and one that still needs to be fully understood and digested. To do this, we need tools that are able to first help us to better understand, and then to manage effectively, and this is something that has yet to be fully developed.
This is what “Agile, smart, da casa. I nuovi mondi del lavoro” (Agile, remote, from home. The new worlds of work) aims to do. It was jointly authored by Luca Solari (full professor at the University of Milan) and Francesco Rotondi (lawyer, employment law specialist and professor at LIUC-Carlo Cattaneo University). The book aims to offer an understanding of the organisational model that uses remote working as performance method for the employee. In particular, the two authors try to overcome the idea of remote working as an emergency solution, as seen in recent years.
The text is divided into two parts. The first discusses organisational needs in relation to a new culture based on the relationship between performance and time. There is a particular focus on some operational ideas on how to apply true remote working under different business conditions. The second part looks at the legislative process regulating the various issues related to agile work, underlining the need for legislative intervention able to remodel the employment contract.
However, above all, what emerges from Solari and Rotondi’s book is the need – and it is almost of an obligatory nature – for cultural change in understanding the work of business, which also requires a new discussion of the very principles of the relationships between business and work.

Agile, smart, da casa. I nuovi mondi del lavoro
Luca Solari, Francesco Rotondi
Franco Angeli. 2021