Many of our certainties have become more fragile in these times of profound transformations. Work is certainly among those most affected. Not that this is new: we have also experienced difficult times in the labour market in other periods. One only has to go back to the periods of youth unemployment in the mid-1980s to find even higher rates than today. However, these were previously the result of crises linked to phases of development: after a period of adjustment, the economy resumed growth as before. As a result, unemployment fell within its physiological parameters. Companies started hiring again and people could find a job: fixed. And by 'fixed', i.e. stable, secure, one was not just thinking of public employment. A job in a large factory, in a chemical or energy company, rather than in a bank could be considered on a par with life insurance. It was that certainty that allowed one to make relatively long-lasting plans for one's life. Today, the happy island of the fixed job has eroded and only sees civil servants as inhabitants. For everything else, work in the sense of a fixed, stable job over time is an island that is (no longer) there.
La Stampa p. 1, 12 October 2015
La Stampa p. 11, 12 October 2015
The transformations in the economy have made everything more flexible and volatile, pushing companies to revisit their organisational models: with adaptability and new technologies to increase productivity and competitiveness. And by containing employment. But that is not all. Over the past two decades, there have been repeated interventions in the regulation of a labour market that has become congealed, in favour of its inescapable greater pliability. On the other hand, however, the absence of a review of the system of social shock absorbers and interventions aimed at supporting the employability of workers, discharges on families and individuals the burden of support, job search or relocation of those who are expelled. The fact that only about 4 per cent of job placements pass through the offices of the Public Employment Centres speaks volumes about the burden on families. The combination of these aspects makes employment (also) more uncertain and explains why when a public competition comes up, the number of entrants far exceeds what is available. (While, paradoxically, there are companies and sectors that struggle to find available people)
It could be said that, despite all signs pointing in the opposite direction, the demand for a 'fixed job' is still the fundamental expectation of work. But is this really the case? The research on orientations towards work offers counter-intuitive results, less obvious than the representations offered by the media. Given a choice, two thirds of Italians would prefer a job that offers the possibility of professional growth and income, even if flexible (69.8%), while the remaining third (30.2%) would give up career opportunities just to have a fixed job. Thus, for the majority of the population, work is imagined more as a 'path' than a 'place'. This is a significant cultural change compared to previous eras and highlights how, all things being equal, the dimension of personal gratification and subjective investment in work have taken on a central role in people's preferences.
It is no coincidence that such an orientation is supported more by the younger generation and students, males, those with a high job title and qualification, and those living in the North East. So far the expectations, the desires, that indicate a metamorphosis in work cultures, which is often overlooked in public discourse and trade union relations. However, these propensities clash with a labour market reality that, despite the first positive signals coming from the Renzi government's Jobs Act reform, still appears problematic. A feeling of concern and disorientation still prevails in the population. While on the one hand, self-employment is seen as the one that allows people to make the most of their skills (80.9%), on the other hand, concern for the future is palpable: 84.6% believe it is right to move abroad to do the job they want, 74.1% expect that today's young people will occupy a worse social position in the future than their parents did, and 68.5% think that young people wishing to make a career have no other hope than to move abroad.
There is a dystonia between, on the one hand, the widespread propensity among a large part of the population to work along a career path capable of professional and remunerative growth. And, on the other, an image of the country that is not yet able to offer real opportunities, especially for the younger generations. Thus, one dreams of a professionally gratifying job, even though it is difficult to find one's dream job in this Italy.
Daniele Marini
