Enhancing Inclusiveness Through Remote Working: What Happened During Covid-19 Experience in Italy?

Abstract

This study aims at deepening the employees’ inclusion perception produced by the intensification of the technologies used in the remote working (RW) experience lived during the Covid-19 lockdown. We believe that ad hoc mechanisms of support have assumed a greater significance by virtue of suddenness and absence of preparation for the switching in RW due to the lockdown. In detail, our research aims to examine how employees’ perception of inclusion is fostered by control and coordination mechanisms implemented for supporting the new (and forced) way of working remotely; further, we aim to understand if and how previous experience in RW gathered by workers may affect such relationship. The survey, developed in May 2020 on a sample of 254 employees in Italy, demonstrates the importance of control and coordination mechanisms implemented for smart workers in fostering their perception of inclusiveness. Further, previous experience in RW of employees was investigated as a moderating variable.