We are close to unlocking, with phase 2 we will gradually return to normal. Once out of the house nothing will be as before, our comfortable routine is not ready to welcome us with its frenetic and reassuring rhythms. We should get used to new customs, in which social distance will be sovereign.
Yet the world outside has stood still. Unlike what happened with the Second World War, during which everything was destroyed, in this case the virus left intact factories, industries, transport, which are waiting for us, certainly with the gears a little rusty, but without any sign of damage. In reality, it is the entire production system that has to start again to be hurt.
But how are we going to get out of the crisis? Any type of forecast is risky, the methods to approach the restoration and the results obtained can only be assessed during the course of the work. In the meantime, we can look at corporate welfare culture as a tool that makes the difference in managing and overcoming the emergency.
Before Covid-19 there were companies that considered corporate welfare as something totally instrumental, which behind welferist logics hid basic and contingent needs. Organizations of this type, which had welfare in mind as a vehicle of the corporate image, or as the possibility of being able to manage the variable part of the salary, must necessarily change direction.
Much more fortunate will be those companies that considered welfare as a shared value between the company, employees and other skateholders. In short, they are the companies that have invested in actively listening to the needs of their employees. These companies will be protagonists in strengthening workers’ well-being.
One wonders if the epidemic could increase this difference between the two types of companies. Given the situation, fortunately, companies of the first type are much more likely to change the approach followed so far, improving their corporate culture. In fact, in the face of the criticality to which business continuity of companies is still subjected, employers have realized what effort and what operational capacity the truly motivated company teams can be capable of.
The secret is right here: an active participation of the whole organization is needed. A new pact will be stipulated, based on respect for the individual, with an eye to health protection. In this way, everyone will be involved in the recovery project, which calls every single force on board to achieve new goals. This type of attitude will inevitably lead to a change in the image of the work so far present in Italy.
The centrality of the person, which the pandemic has enhanced, seems destined not to end with the “post Covid-19”. We can see the beginning of a new season of strong development of company bargaining and participation. Once again the expression is worth together we will make it.