Confindustria Lombardia’s 11th Labour Report: focus on absenteeism, smart working and corporate welfare

Milan, 22 November 2018 – The 11th edition of ‘The Labour Market in Lombardy’ has been released. This Confindustria Lombardia survey analyses the characteristics of daily business life. Based on a sample of over one thousand member companies, the 2018 report provides a comprehensive overview and guidance for improved human resource management.

This year, the survey was enhanced by a collaboration with Ayming, an international consulting group that produces an original Barometer on Absenteeism and Motivation. This study focuses on the motivational implications of absenteeism, allowing for a series of qualitative insights into the mechanisms linked to absence and employee engagement within companies. This 360-degree perspective on the phenomenon of absenteeism has also enabled a more detailed analysis of the prevalence of certain tools for improving corporate quality of life, such as collective variable bonuses, corporate welfare and smart working.

ABSENTEEISM FROM WORK

The average employee lost a total of 110 hours, with an overall absence rate (percentage of hours of absence out of total working hours) of 6.7% in 2017 (6.6% in the industrial sector and 7.2% in the service sector). The absence rate increases with company size (4.0% in micro-enterprises, 5.1% in small, 5.9% in medium and 7.1% in large) and decreases with seniority (3.4% for executives, 5.7% for white-collar/intermediate staff, 8.4% for blue-collar workers), and is higher for women (9.9%) than for men (5.6%).

Over the last three years, the absence rate has moved from 5.9% in 2015 to 6.8% in 2016 and 6.7% in 2017. The phenomenon of absenteeism is closely linked to the motivation employees find in the workplace: the trend of one is inversely proportional to the other.

TOOLS FOR IMPROVING THE CORPORATE CLIMATE:

SMART WORKING

Smart working is used in 7.0% of companies, with higher penetration in the service sector (13.8%) compared to the industrial sector (5.6%). At the same time, smart working usage increases with company size (3.6% among micro-enterprises, 3.9% among small, 7.6% among medium and 16.4% among large).

The tool is also being carefully evaluated by a large number of companies that do not yet use it. Based on expressions of interest, this organisational work method could reach 16.4% of Lombardy’s companies in the coming years (with peaks of 24.5% among service companies and 32.7% among larger companies).

In 48% of companies, smart working is implemented in a structured form, via a regulation or company agreement, while in the remaining 52% of cases, it relies solely on individual agreements. The share of “structured presence” is higher in the industrial sector (45%) than in the service sector (38%) and intensifies as company size increases (22% in micro, 31% in small, 39% in medium and 61% in large). This approach emphasises organisational flexibility and helps employees balance their work and personal lives while simultaneously fostering increased productivity.

COLLECTIVE VARIABLE BONUSES

In 2017, 33.9% of the companies surveyed applied a collective company agreement providing for the payment of a performance bonus; 36.1% of industrial companies and 22.9% of service companies.

The presence of company-level bargaining with performance bonuses tends to increase with company size: 5.6% in micro-enterprises, 17.5% in small, 47.1% in medium and 76.0% in companies with over 250 employees. The impact of the performance bonus on remuneration is 3.5% for executives, 4.1% for white-collar staff and 4.2% for blue-collar workers.

Company agreements are therefore a tool that is well-utilised by Lombardy’s businesses, with very significant percentages for certain business segments.

CORPORATE WELFARE

The survey found the presence of corporate welfare, in one of the 9 forms provided for by the TUIR (Consolidated Law on Income Tax), in 65.9% of companies (66.9% of industrial companies and 60.6% of service companies).

The presence of corporate welfare increases with the size of the company: it is 49.6% in micro-enterprises, reaches 58.2% among small ones, rises to 74.3% among medium ones and reaches as high as 84.8% among large ones.

Supplementary health insurance is the most common tool, provided by 80% of companies that use at least one form of welfare. This is followed by supplementary pension schemes (67%), canteen services (52%), and other fringe benefits (49%). The remaining tools are used significantly less frequently.

These measures account for an average of 2.3% of personnel costs. This is a significant figure, demonstrating the efforts made by Lombardy-based companies to provide their staff with adequate welfare benefits.

Corporate welfare is increasingly becoming a new way to invest in human resources and engage them in the company mission. It serves as an important lever for staff retention and development, fostering internal relations with clear benefits for both businesses and employees.

Attachments

• 181122 2018 Regional Labour Survey.pdf