Work, one out of two employees willing to earn less due to reduced hours – Corriere.it

The relationship of Italians with work has become more complicated. The dissatisfied are on the increase. Wages lose purchasing power. We would like to work less but in reality we often work more. And keeping the family together with occupations outside the home remains complicated: in the end, it is the family that is sacrificed between the two. This is the picture that emerges from a survey among the readers of the Corriere della Sera. The questionnaire was proposed on the site courier.it and carried out through the blog «The cloud of work».

Many responded: as many as 3,700 between self-employed and employees. There survey it explored three main issues: purchasing power, organization and working hours, reconciling private and professional commitments. Precisely on this front, an unsettling evidence emerges: on average 30% of women declare that they have given up having a child because it is irreconcilable with work.

Women’s waivers

As emerges from the results of the survey, more than 10% of women over forty declare that they have given up their first child, over 10% with the second, just under 10% with the third. Work turns out to be an alternative to motherhood in many cases. And the problem also concerns fathers, albeit to a lesser extent: 37% of the self-employed and 35% of employees declare that they have suppressed their desire for fatherhood to satisfy the needs of work. What would it take to improve things? The most popular solutions by employees are two: more smart working and freedom to self-organize (60%); greater time flexibility (48%). 26% ask for more nursery places, 29% would like the nursery schools themselves to be free, 30% hope that home care services will be strengthened for the elderly, 34% discounts on the costs associated with hiring babysitters and carers, the 17% easier access to residences for the elderly.

61% of employees would like to work less

The short week debate seems so far from reality. 61% of employees would like to work less against 39% of the self-employed. In short, the self-employed work more but feel less need to reduce tasks outside the home, a sign that behind the trend towards disengagement towards professional duties there is not only a greater need for the private sector but also a dissatisfaction with the work that is done and the perspectives it offers. 48% of those interviewed – almost one in two – would be happy with a reduction in working hours even in the face of a salary cut. Time has now turned into hard cash.