Never as in this complex period do we have time. We are studded with proposals to optimize time, but we want to give you an idea that you may not have thought of yet.

The time has come to learn to read the paycheck. A trivial idea, which many will reject believing they are capable of. Yet from the results of the research by Adp, a multinational expert in Human Capital Management, only 73% of Italians are capable of understanding a paycheck (76% men and 70% women). There remains a 27% who are unfamiliar with this document. Of these, 12% say they are in front of too confusing a document, and 15% even admit they never read it.

Adp’s research was carried out at European level, involving 10 thousand employees spread across France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Poland and the United Kingdom. The Italian champion, equal to 1,400 employees, is actually faced with a very complicated document. Payroll in Italy is one of the most complex documents in the world, made up of measures that have overlapped over time, some of which date back to the early years of the 20th century. Added to this are the continuous changes in operating practices and a complex tax contribution system, based on national, territorial and sectoral criteria.

While admitting the complexity of the Italian paycheck, it is essential that the worker know how to read it. Returning to the search for ADP, the most indifferent to understanding the paycheck are the Italians between 16 and 24 years of age. Of these, 27% say they do not fully understand it, while 19% do not even read it. The most careful, however, are the over 55: of these 13% do not include all the points.

Not reading the paycheck is a very serious shortcoming for the worker. Not noticing any errors goes against the correct evaluation of our work performance. Indifference, as you can imagine, is even more dangerous for shift workers with irregular hours.