How work is changing in 2023

Society and economy may be returning to a post-pandemic normality, but the world of work has truly changed forever. From remote work to environmental sustainability, from skills shortage to the resurgence of intangible values over material ones, COVID has heightened people and companies’ search for work-life balance, the need for kind leaders, curiosity about digital nomadism. The lockdown effect is compounded by a more widespread digitization and a change in people’s expectations towards work. According to a survey conducted as part of the Randstad Employer Brand Research 2022, work-life balance is important for 65% of Italians – 6,590 respondents among the active population – and is at the top of the list of the most sought-after elements in a company along with a pleasant atmosphere. The percentage in Italy is higher than the European average (61%).

For this reason, in 2023, it is more important than ever for companies to take care of their people’s well-being and sensitize them to proper time and activity management, avoiding burnout (the feeling of exhaustion and stress that leads to depletion) or quiet quitting (the total loss of motivation that leads to doing as little work as possible). In a 2021 Doxa survey, one Italian worker out of two said they experience a form of psychological discomfort at work, and 49% of those under 34 reported resigning at least once to preserve their mental health. In 2022, a Bain & Company study confirmed under-35 workers is the most affected by the problem of burnout, and young Italian workers are the most stressed in Europe.

The sustainability of work is also a business issue. According to Prasanth Nair, founder, and CEO of Double Gemini, it is about addressing the major challenge of productivity loss in our economies. “Our Era of lost productivity,” says Nair, “combined with the scarcity of talent, has put employers in the position of having to transform the way they fuel productivity. Companies that fail to meet today’s HR challenges put their culture, talents, and the life of their organization at risk. One of these challenges is certainly represented by employees who feel tired and demotivated (burnout) lacking the necessary work-life balance.”

In this context, remote work represents an opportunity to seize, especially in the form of hybrid work, an alternation and mixture of physical presence and online collaboration. This obviously requires the technologies, such as cloud, UCC (Unified Communications and Collaboration) solutions, fast internet connectivity, and cybersecurity for networks and data. But a change of pace is also required in the culture of companies and workers in order to understand and manage flexible work. Immersive technologies will also make their way into remote work: Adecco’s study “Global Workforce of the Future” revealed that nearly half (46%) of Generation Z workers believe the metaverse will become an integral part of their work in the future. Hybrid work is also linked to the redesign of spaces, both in the office (with modern workplace design or desk booking apps) and in other buildings, such as co-working areas. These buildings can be anywhere, in cities or high mountains, as we will see when talking about another emerging phenomenon, digital nomadism.

An experience of smart working that gives value back to time

Balancing work, family, and personal time: that’s what smart working means to Stefania Cella, Senior Technical Consultant at Trilog. Having been with the company for 12 years, she spent the first few years commuting between Varese and Milan, which meant spending hours on trains. “I joined Trilog when I was 27, and since then I have grown, got married, and had three children. The company allowed me to do all of this by accepting my request to work remotely, long before Covid,” says Stefania. “As long as I had only one child, I could manage with the commuting, but with the second, I needed to manage the balance between work and family differently. For me, smart working means the freedom not to have to choose: I wanted to continue growing in the company, but also to raise my children,” says Stefania. “I was given the opportunity, and for me, it is the best I have had in my life. It is not comparable to a new job or a salary increase.”

In Stefania’s experience, smart working improves both personal and work life: no longer having to travel, Stefania returned to live in her hometown of Genoa and found herself with more time, energy, and concentration. She could manage the extra hours for work, family, or herself, even just to rest and do other activities. And greater personal satisfaction translates into higher work motivation. “Working remotely improves the quality of personal life, facilitates my being a mother, and has allowed me to stay true to myself. Working remotely, you can be in the company full-time, with the same responsibility and availability, even if you have children. I was not forced to part-time like other women.”

So, what should work ideally be like? “Accessible to everyone, not forcing you to give up on yourself, and helping you progress. Today, having three children is a luxury, while work should provide opportunities,” says Stefania. “Work-life balance is essential. If you don’t feel respected in the company, you look for something else. Satisfied people stay. The company should promote professional and personal growth and a sense of belonging, letting employees know that they take care of their well-being.”

For women, the path is even more complex: “IT work facilitates it because it can be done remotely, but not all positions can be done from home, and many mothers find themselves forced to choose between work and motherhood. The problem exists, and governments should address it,” says Stefania. “Yet, work-from-home is a benefit for companies. It enhances skills because the worker accesses a geographically distributed pool of resources. Moreover, being a mother, in my experience, gives more energy, greater problem-solving ability. It gives you a different narrative with clients, allows you to access a new beginning every time, is stimulating and enriching.”

Remote working, highlight Stefania, is also a responsibility of the worker, who must take responsibility for their time and objectives. The role of managers is also important: “Good, sensitive leadership encompasses the concepts of inclusion, sustainability, and culture.”

Dune in Cosenza embraces the opportunities of changing work

The well-being of employees coincides with the well-being of the company, which is why the recruiting services company, Adecco, has included talent management in its trends for the job market in 2023. Sustainable practices by companies must embrace the entire well-being of the individual, considered in their totality as an individual and not just in their role as an employee.

These values have always been part of the philosophy of the Dune Group. In the last three years, the profound economic and social changes have led us to further deepen our mission as a sustainable company and to redesign our presence in the territory to facilitate the well-being of our employees, preserving the quality of their lives and their connection with their territory. Since we are convinced of the advantages and opportunities created by remote work, we opened our office in Cosenza in October 2022 and plan to open more new offices in the short term, which will follow the “smart work” hub model already proposed in our Milan offices, combining the principles of flexibility and employee accountability that characterize us.

The choice of the Calabrian capital was determined by the relationships we already have with the local University of Arcavacata and the fact that many of our employees come from this city and this university, a real pool of talent. In this first phase, the Cosenza office is focused on SAP activities carried out by the subsidiary Trilog, but we are evaluating the extension to other areas of the Group.

We believe in the positive power of smart working, which translates into inclusion and increased knowledge sharing. Our Senior AI Expert, Pietro Marinelli, is a demonstration of this: he is the team leader of the project on “Food safety and artificial intelligence,” which brings together experts, partners (such as NASA) and supporters (including USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) from all over the world to work on improving agricultural practices in East and Southern Africa. The project has been active for two years and is led by a multidisciplinary team of data scientists, developers, economists, scientists, and domain experts located in Europe, America, and Africa, who collaborate remotely through a cloud application: no in-person meetings or travel have been necessary so far. In this initiative, data analysis using artificial intelligence techniques supports the decision-making process of public, private, and civil society actors. A replicable model anywhere that fully leverages not only the tools and culture of smart working but also innovations in artificial intelligence – another key theme for 2023 – which we will discuss in more detail in the next newsletter, talking about Pietro Marinelli’s intervention