Luca Brusamolino, Workitect Ceo, tells us about smart working, its effects and its future.
Before the pandemic, only a few employees were familiar with smart working or were regularly working remotely. According to the Observatory of the Italian University Politecnico di Milano, 97% of big companies, 94% of Italian Public Administration and 58% of small and medium-sizedbusinesseswereworkingremotelyduringtheworstphase of the pandemic. We commented on these data with Luca Brusamolino, WorkitectCeo,SmartWorkingCoachandCo-FounderoftheSmartworking Day, who has been involved in consultancy for workplace change and smart working for years.
Is it really like this or is it a hybrid what most companies adopted?
Only some medium-sized and big companies in Italy are implementing smart working as an organizational model for more autonomy in salaried work to achieve a final result. The pandemic has certainly speeded up digitalization. However, what was experienced by small and medium- sized private business employees and state employees, is a different approach to work, remote working or working from home, however you want to name it. These are only a component of smart working, which requires a crucial evolution, more significant than company standard organizational models.
Why do you think smart working was not much implemented before the Covid-19 pandemic?
Mainly for three reasons: first, the technological backwardness of Italian companies. We are not talking about having the most advanced technologies, but even the bases for shared work are often missing, such as a good internet connection. Second, not everyone can use technology and fill in a shared online calendar. Third, there is a cultural issue. Most of Italian small and medium-sized businesses are private companies and the pandemic certainly had an impact on their organization and leadership style on which they are based. They do not consider home working but prefer to check on their employees on site. This was and still is the biggest obstacle to overcome. Now, following the pandemic, remote working experience opened interesting perspectives and many companies are wondering whether it is convenient to continue with remote working. We cannot go back in time, that is why it is important to find a new balance.
Will smart working survive this health crisis? Do we still need the office?
Of course yes! Recent studies have shown what some categories of employees seem to miss the most since being in quarantine and working from home. Answers revealed they most miss being close to colleagues, sharing experiences and a social dimension, not intended as a chat, but as a relationship that develops from working in the same environment. What we need to rethink is the office space and create different environments based on the type of activity, to improve the experience of the employees. Of course, design also plays a crucial role. The office as an experience. And Las has all the necessary features and competencies to ensure furniture become a good reason to go to the office. We probably will not go everyday, only two or three times a week, when necessary.
From a sociological point of view, what are the effects of smart working?
From this point of view, we need to consider that we spent months in isolation, almost forced to stay home and this was not easy at all for people working remotely, who had to cope with lack of adequate space in the house, living with other family members. However, smart working intended as a way to make employees more responsible can only improve working conditions. Let’s take communting, for instance, which would no longer occur, the center is then emptied and the city would also benefit from it. Cities would also need to be redesigned in relation to the spaces we are used to.