The invisible cost of non-involvement: why Italian companies risk losing talent

A rift between people and organisations is emerging with increasing evidence in the Italia labour market, reflecting a crisis of involvement at work. This is not just a widespread perception, but a measurable phenomenon: according to a recent analysis by Robert Walters, one of the leading global recruitment consultancy firms, only 15% of Italian workers consider themselves to be fully involved in their work, a percentage that is among the lowest at international level and in Gallup's surveys falls further to around 10%, placing our country below the European average for lowest levels of engagement in Europe.

The figure depicts a silent but potentially costly crisis for the production system, because the emotional distance from work on the part of employees translates into lower productivity, higher turnover and difficulty (for companies) in retaining critical skills. It is no coincidence that almost half of the employees surveyed say they have considered changing jobs, while a significant proportion feel that work has lost centrality in their lives.

More than half of the Peninsula's workers also report high levels of work-related stress and more than a third consider leaving their jobs in the short term. Economic uncertainty, pressure on purchasing power and new personal priorities all play a role in this change of approach, prompting many professionals to reduce their engagement at work, limiting themselves to essential tasks.

From the companies' point of view, the issue can therefore no longer be relegated to a cultural issue or to an internal organisational climate or to a mere priority of the HR area, in view of the fact that people engagement is gradually becoming a competitive factor. The data processed by Robert Walters clearly show how even in Italian companies the level of involvement at work is extremely low, despite the investments made by companies on flexibility, welfare and engagement initiatives in recent years; working methods, this is the assumption of the experts of the London-based company, have changed faster than the ability of organisations to adapt culture, leadership and collaboration models. And the resulting risk for companies is an increasingly distant and less motivated workforce. Underlying this phenomenon are not only individual dynamics, but there are deeper and more structural roots. "From our observatory," observes Walter Papotti, Robert Walters' Country Manager for Italia, "the issue is not so much linked to individual motivation, but to structural factors. In our country, there are still very hierarchical organisational models, a leadership culture that is often more control-oriented than accountability-oriented, and a lack of clarity on objectives, growth paths and recognition criteria. In many contexts there is a lack of real alignment between company strategy and people's contribution, an element that in other European nations is instead more explicit and shared'.

The scenario that emerges is therefore that of an increasing difficulty for management to build a strong and recognisable organisational identity, especially in a context in which hybrid work and greater professional mobility have profoundly changed the relationship between the individual and the company. It is not surprising, in this context, that only 43% of Italian workers consider their company to be a good place to work, one of the lowest percentages on a European basis. "I believe this is a structural change and not a conjunctural one," Papotti observes in this regard, "and the pandemic has accelerated an already ongoing reflection on the value of work in people's lives: work is no less important, but it is valued differently, because people are looking for meaning, balance, leadership quality and consistency with their values. Where these elements are missing, the willingness to change increases, regardless of the economic context'.