Even in regions such as the North-East, where work is not only a source of income but also a factor in social identity, it has become more precarious during these long years of profound change. Surveys show that unemployment is the number one concern, even though rates are well below the national average. As a result, many of our certainties have become more fragile. And work is certainly one of the areas most affected. Not that this is anything new: we have experienced difficult times in the labour market in the past as well. One need only look back to the periods of youth unemployment in the mid-1980s to find rates even higher than those we see today. However, in the past these were the result of crises linked to phases of economic development: after a period of stabilisation, the economy would resume growing as before. Consequently, unemployment would return to its normal levels. Businesses would start hiring again and people would be able to find a job: a permanent one.
Corriere delle Alpi, 18 October 2015
Messaggero Veneto, 18 October 2015
Finegil newspapers, 18 October 2015
And by ‘permanent’ – that is, stable and secure – people did not mean just a job in the civil service. A job in a factory, in a chemical or energy company, or even in a bank, could be regarded as equivalent to a life insurance policy. It was that certainty that allowed people to make relatively long-term plans for their lives. Today, the ‘happy island’ of permanent employment has eroded, and its inhabitants are now limited to civil servants. For everyone else, work in the sense of a permanent, stable job is an island that no longer exists. Economic changes have made everything more flexible and volatile, prompting companies to rethink their organisational models: with a focus on adaptability and new technologies to boost productivity and competitiveness. And by cutting back on employment. But that is not the whole story. Over the last two decades, there have been repeated interventions to reform a labour market that had become rigid, with a view to making it inevitably more flexible.
On the other hand, however, the failure to overhaul the system of social safety nets and measures aimed at supporting workers’ employability shifts the burden of providing support, helping with job searches or finding new employment for those who lose their jobs onto families and individuals. The fact that only around 4 per cent of job placements are facilitated through the offices of the Public Employment Centres speaks volumes about the burden placed on families. Taken together, these factors (also) make employment more precarious and explain why, when a public sector recruitment drive is announced, the number of applicants far exceeds the number of vacancies. And this is also the case in the North-East, which has nevertheless made labour market mobilisation one of its key priorities. One might say that, despite all the signs pointing in the opposite direction, the demand for a ‘permanent job’ is still the fundamental expectation when it comes to work. But is this really the case? Research into attitudes towards work (Community Media Research) offers counterintuitive findings, which are less predictable than the portrayals presented by the media.
Given the choice, four-fifths of people in the north-east (82.9 per cent) – far more than the rest of Italians (69.8 per cent) – would prefer a job offering opportunities for professional development and higher earnings, even if it were flexible, whilst the remaining fifth (17.1 per cent; 30.2% in the rest of Italy) would be willing to forego career prospects in order to have a permanent job. This tendency is more pronounced amongst people from Veneto (83.3 per cent) and those from Trentino and South Tyrol (82.4 per cent), rather than amongst people from Friuli-Venezia Giulia (66.7 per cent), where the prospect of a permanent job appears far more appealing. Thus, for the majority of the population, work is envisaged more as a ‘journey’ than a ‘job’. And this is far more the case in the North-East than elsewhere. This represents a significant cultural shift compared with previous eras and highlights how, all other things being equal, personal fulfilment and personal investment in one’s work have taken on a central role in people’s preferences. It is no coincidence that this mindset is most strongly held by younger generations and students, by men, by those in skilled roles with higher qualifications, and by those living in the North-East. So far, these are the expectations and aspirations that point to a transformation in work cultures, one which is often overlooked in public discourse and in industrial relations. However, these trends clash with the reality of the labour market which, despite the first positive signs emerging from the Renzi government’s Jobs Act reform, still appears problematic. A sense of concern and disorientation still prevails amongst the population. On the one hand, self-employment is seen as the option that, more than any other, allows people to make the most of their skills (77.1 per cent, particularly in Trentino-Alto Adige: 94.1 per cent). On the other hand, concern for the future is palpable: 85.6 per cent believe it is right to move abroad to do the job they want (in particular, in Trentino-Alto Adige: 97.6 per cent; and in Friuli-Venezia Giulia: 91.7 per cent); 74.1 per cent expect today’s young people to occupy a lower social position in the future than their parents did, a concern most widespread amongst people from Trentino and South Tyrol (81.3 per cent); 68.9% believe that young people keen to advance their careers have no other hope than to move abroad (87.5% in Trentino-Alto Adige; 75.0% in Friuli-Venezia Giulia).
There is a disconnect between, on the one hand, the widespread desire amongst a large section of the north-eastern population for a job that follows a career path offering professional and financial growth, and, on the other hand, a perception that the region is not yet able to offer real opportunities, particularly for the younger generations. Consequently, people dream of a professionally rewarding job, even though it is difficult to find one’s dream job in Italy today.
Daniele Marini
