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Article published February 18^th, 2022, in L’Eco di Bergamo.

“Where does the work go?” A third meeting of the series “Dialogues on the changing world”, organized by Imiberg, was dedicated to this topic.

The speakers were Roberta Togni, General Counsel of Automha in Azzano San Paolo, a company that produces robotized storage systems; Danilo Dadda, President of the sustainable Vanoncini Edilizia in Mapello; Francesco Seghezzi, President of Adapt, association headquartered in Bergamo, founded in 2000, to promote studies and research regarding industrial relations and work, by Marco Biagi. Moderator Andrea Valesini, Editor-in-Chief at L’Eco di Bergamo, guided the discussion on some “very original” initiatives started, in diverse areas, from Automha to Vanoncini.

“Automha’s Board of Directors,” explains Togni “has adopted a plan that allows working mothers to work 6 hours a day but be paid for 8. And it resolved to not resort to layoffs during the lockdown period.”

The first provision is coherent with the fifth mission of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, “cohesion and inclusion,” more specifically the effort to bridge the gender gap, support female empowerment, and end gender discrimination.

“In the policies of the Recovery and Resilience plan, the theme of helping families is central. We responded as a business, without waiting for the State. A woman should not be restricted to choosing between private and work life. In 2019, in respect to 2018, a 4% increase in resignations was recorded for work-family irreconcilability.”

As for the decision to not resort to layoffs during the lockdown period: “It had heavy financial importance, we without fail found ourselves on the balance sheet. The choice was to not look at only the number, but the support: to take care of people, put yourself in their shoes, face the difficulties from their point of view, to not bring 140 families to their knees. To make a sacrifice together.”

Dadda, instead, decided to “award workers for each book read and presented in the company.” His “BookClub”: “During the lockdown period, we met on zoom every morning. At every meeting, the first hour, we presented, told others about the book we read. It was very nice.” The incentive: “100 euros if you read and presented a book. 200 for the second, 300 for the third. If you read it and presented it in English, the prize doubled. Read everybody!”