Smart working resists, 7 out of 10 workers would oppose its abolition

The smart working in Italy is far from deaddespite the decisions of certain large companies who have decided to go into reverse on this point. Despite the stop to all legislative measures that forced employers to allow smart working for specific categories, the number of remote workers in 2024 is substantially stable: 3.55 million compared to 3.58 million in 2023 (-0.8%). And if you look closely, remote working it grows precisely in large companieswhere it involves almost two million workers (1.91 million, +1.6% on 2023), close to the peak of the pandemic, with 96% of large organizations having now consolidated initiatives in this sense. Instead, it declines in SMEsrising to 520 thousand workers from 570 thousand last year, and remains essentially stable in micro-enterprises (625 thousand in 2024, 620 thousand in 2023) and in public administration (500 thousand in 2024, 515 thousand in 2023).

Furthermore, the trend is growing: a +5% is expected for 2025, which would reach 3.75 million people. The ones who will evolve the initiatives, in terms of people involved or policies, will be above all large companies (35%) followed by public administrations (23%) and 9% of SMEs. Virtually all large companies plan to maintain smart working in the future. 35% of large companies and 43% of PAs expect an increase in the number of workers involved in the next year, while in SMEs the direction is the opposite, with only 8% hypothesizing an increase.

These are some of the results of the researchSmart Working Observatory of the Polytechnic of Milan presented today during the conference «Between Smart Working and Return-to-Office: finding your way in the labyrinth of flexibility». One of over 50 different research lines of the Digital Innovation Observatories of the Polytechnic which address all the key themes of digital innovation in businesses and public administration.

Over seven in ten would oppose the abolition of smart working

Naturally smart working is not the same for everyone: Italian smart workers can work remotely on average 9 days a month in large companies7 in public administration and 6.6 in SMEs. It is a widespread and appreciated practice, which very few would give up. The central fact is in fact that 73% of workers who use it would oppose if their company eliminated this form of flexibility. Specifically, 27% would seriously think about change jobs and 46% would work to change the employer’s mind. Again according to the workers, to try to at least partially compensate for the lack of possibility of working remotely, the company should offer greater hourly flexibility or increase the salary by at least 20%.

These numbers are in line with those of another survey signed by Hays Italiaa recruiting company, with the contribution of the Daverio&Florio law firm, which analyzed the effects of the possible elimination or reduction of smart working on workers: in this case three quarters of them would be ready to look for a new job or leave their current one. While from an economic point of view, to “accept” the cancellation of agile working, professionals would demand an alternative on average 30% more than your current net salaryapproximately 7 thousand euros per year. Only 14% of workers say that returning to the office would not have an impact.

For 58%, returning to attendance was an obligation

Among those who returned to full presence after working remotely – and here we return to the data from the Polytechnic of Milan – only 19% did so by personal choice, because they no longer need to work remotely or simply prefer to socialize with colleagues in presence, 23% have a new job that cannot be carried out remotely, while for the vast majority (58%) it was a decision made by the company. In short: an obligation.

«In recent months, due to the elimination of the last regulatory obligations on smart working and the choice of some large multinationals to have their workers return fully in person, the end of smart working has been decreed prematurely – he explains Mariano Corsoscientific director of the Smart Working Observatory – in reality the numbers photograph another realitywith remote workers essentially stable compared to last year. Agile working is growing in large companies and declining in SMEs. In small businesses, the end of the mandatory smart working for fragile workers has brought many workers back to the office, probably because this organizational model is still seen, predominantly, as an occasional tool for reconciling private and working life and not as a real own innovation in the organization of work”.

Rethinking work spaces: flexible, differentiated and reconfigurable

Attention to… is also growing rethinking work spaces to make them more effective and attractive in a mixed working model, in person and remotely. 78% of large companies have, at least in some locations, flexible, reconfigurable, differentiated spaces that allow effective use of the environments, solutions also present in 49% of PAs and 34% of SMEs. 56% of large companies and 28% of SMEs and PAs have introduced spaces dedicated to energy recovery and socialization in their offices, while solutions for physical well-being such as standing desks are still not widespread

«Flexibility in work organization is relevant for attracting and retaining talent. This is why organizations are evaluating and experimenting with new models to expand the number of people who can benefit from forms of flexibility and, at the same time, access a broader pool of necessary skills – he says Fiorella Crespidirector of the Smart Working Observatory – we go from short weekactually adopted by less than 10% of companies, but which receives a lot of interest,International Smart Working: a phenomenon practiced in 29% of large companies and which allows the employment of people who reside abroad, whether they are of foreign or Italian nationality.”