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In common language the term smart working is increasingly in vogue; what this word means and what are the fundamentals behind it.
In the following paragraphs we try to clarify what smart working is and how important it is to optimize production processes in the working environment, reducing time wastage and maximizing yield.
Smart working, what is it
Smart working or in the Italian terminology "il lavoro agile" (agile work) is a mode of execution of the employment relationship, regulated and established by the agreement of the parties united by a professional relationship.
In this case, smart working may include various forms of organisation by pre-established cycles, phases and objectives, which do not provide for precise traditional time constraints and constant presence in a given workplace, but rather a certain flexibility guaranteed by the use of modern technological systems.
In particular, the use of digital technological systems is today able to guarantee an approach to work capable of increasing competitiveness and facilitating the needs of private life times, reducing stress and at the same time maximising the quality of professional performance.
The concept of smart working involves carrying out certain professional activities inside offices and company premises, together with other activities carried out remotely, from an external workstation to workspaces.
Ratio between pay and smart working
With regard to remuneration and regulatory treatment "agile work" refers in our labour law to the collective agreement and not the national contract.
In fact, the original text of the provision provides that workers who carry out their profession and professional services in an "agile" manner will be entitled to legal and economic treatment that must not be lower than that commonly applied to those who carry out the same tasks entirely within the office or company spaces.
The provision also specifies that the conditions for agile work are established by collective agreement. The smart working agreement shall be stipulated by the parties in writing for the purpose of administrative regularity and proof.
The worker who works in smart working mode shall therefore be entitled to a salary and regulatory treatment not inferior to the workers who work within the company on a daily basis. The stipulation of the smart working agreement may be signed on a temporary or permanent basis.
From a contractual point of view, termination is permitted in the event of justified reason, also with regard to a fixed-term or fixed-term contract.
How many days can I work in agile working mode?
The amount of working days and time in which it is possible to work in smart working mode will depend on the type of agreement entered into by the parties. In our country today there are companies that allow and contract work at a distance and therefore not at the company headquarters for the time of one, two working days a week.
Obviously everything will depend on the role held by the worker and his or her specific skills.
The main advantages of smart working
Smart working or agile work is a new trend that allows for a significant increase in productivity in a wide variety of business sectors and production sectors, thanks to a better organisation of the days that will take place by optimising the time available.
One of the great revolutions that characterises the contemporary working world is the possibility of working and working from home or anywhere else, without being forced to spend most of the day inside the walls of the company office.
In the last five years new professional figures have thus developed as freelancers, freelancers and independent workers working in every professional field.
According to recent Eurostat data, about 3.6 million Italian workers are now self-employed.
Since 2016, the increase in the number of self-employed workers in Italy has almost doubled: about 30% of large companies operating in a wide range of sectors have in recent years implemented policies aimed at increasing smart working, clearly surpassing the figures of 2015, which recorded 17% of companies oriented towards agile work.
The recent evolution of scenarios concerning the labour market, delineate the tangible need to obtain as much as possible smart working solutions, which are increasingly taking place within the walls of the home.
SoHo - Small Office Home Office
Thanks to the development of smart working on a global scale, the term "SoHo", an acronym for Small Office Home Office, was recently coined.
The concept expressed by this term is nothing other than the need to create jobs that are increasingly aimed at maximum practicality and essentiality and at the same time extremely innovative and capable of transforming the self-employed into spaces equipped with every comfort and able to make the worker as comfortable as possible.
Digitisation, internet connection and smart working
An essential role in the development of smart working is certainly played by the digitisation and interconnectivity of the various professionals via the Internet.
In order to work as efficiently as possible, the first thing every company needs is an excellent network connection, which is necessary to communicate, surf and above all send emails and documents.
In order to choose an optimal internet connection, it will be necessary to evaluate with the utmost care some important criteria of a technical nature, such as speed, system quality and stability.
Tips and advice for working in smart office mode from home
For all professionals and employees working in smart office mode, it will be necessary to pay attention to some fundamental aspects. Especially for those who work from home and spend many hours at the computer, some simple rules can be extremely important for health but also for productivity.
One of the first tips is to choose ergonomic professional chairs to prevent back pain, given the high number of hours you will spend sitting down.
Another suggestion for those who work from home is to use professional and design desks where to place all the devices you will need to carry out your work. If you don't want to choose a specific desk, you could opt for a table top with a design base that fits perfectly with the furniture in your home.
In addition, it will be important to pay attention to the following rules: place the monitor just above eye level; maintain a correct distance between the computer screen and face; always try to maintain a correct posture and avoid obsessive and repetitive movements as much as possible; every 20, 30 minutes of work try to take a 15, 20 minute break and get up from your workstation, taking your eyes off the screen; try to take two steps and walk during your small breaks; try never to work in low light.
Open the windows every two or three hours to refresh the room and purify it; adjust the brightness of the screen with the utmost care; finally, take time for some exercise before or after your working day.
These simple rules will help you to increase your well-being and reduce stress at work.
Always be reachable by your employer in smart working mode
For the smart working regime, it will be necessary for the employee and the employer to define precise disconnection times; the purpose of this definition will be to avoid the risk of the worker becoming a de facto slave to a permanent connection regime.
For this reason it should be pointed out that some French and German companies have recently reached specific agreements to avoid the phenomenon of permanent or "always on" interconnection.
In particular, in recent months there has been an important public and political debate in France concerning the inclusion of disconnection rights in the system.
This issue is particularly topical among the public opinion and extremely delicate: it cannot therefore be left to improvisation, but must be properly regulated.