Remote work: why we need to legislate on Smart Working
If even Romano Prodi dedicates his editorial article to it in the pages of the Il Messaggero newspaper, the delicate issue of remote working, which the covid pandemic has unleashed in all its revolutionary force, is at the centre of political reflection.
In his usual calm, rational way, the former prime minister outlines in a few effective strokes the peculiar characteristics of a revolution destined to upset the labour market.
Starting with the urgent need for legislation on intelligent working, he even contests the English name, finding it inappropriate and discriminatory inasmuch as (and here we are all agreed) all jobs are intelligent and worthy of this attribution.
Beyond its being agile and performed in places other than the office, Prodi believes that remote working has to tackle the conundrum of hard workers and shirkers. The hard fact of the matter is that the dilemma of how to distinguish between these two very different categories of workers must be solved, because the methodologies and processes to make the necessary distinction are lacking. And above all there is a lack of laws.
Then there is the thorny question of domestic injuries that occur during remote working, totally excluded from any legislation on the subject and which politics has not yet wanted nor been able to address, taken up as it has been with other priorities.
Nothing has been produced at the legislative level, not even on the subject of performance and how to evaluate it and adapt career steps to a new and, until now, unbeaten path. In view of this, the author points out the need to bring all the manufacturing categories and institutional representatives together around the table to plan the future.
This need derives from the urgency to replan life in cities which, from commerce to leisure, will be profoundly disrupted by the digitalization of services. And this new dimension will lead to a rethinking of Italian life, of the rhythms and quality of time spent in work and of its balance with the needs of private life, that can no longer be put off.
