Disponibili 24/7: nuove dimensioni della qualità del lavoro e del benessere sociale. Uno studio comparato tra lavoro pubblico e privato: disuguaglianze, irresponsabilità e possibili soluzioni.

This study aims to identify the consequences on individual and collective well-being of the loss of control over time management, as a result of the processes of flexibilisation of work and social acceleration that characterize contemporary society. The dissolution of the boundaries between work and private life is observed to proliferate latently in every context of social and professional life, but now appears institutionalized in some sectors of the 24/7 economy where just-in-time availability is increasingly required. In order to distinguish more clearly the contours of the phenomenon, it was decided to limit the survey to a sector of the 24/7 economy, which lends itself to comparisons between work organizations that are still Fordist and organizations hyper-flexible. The choice therefore fell on the profession of "Bus Driver", which can be carried out in the "solid" context of Local Public Transport, still structured, guaranteeing and strongly unionized, or in the "liquid" organizations of the companies of “Rental with Driver” which are more exposed to an unpredictable demand and are characterized by a strong flexibility, both in the use of atypical contractual forms, and in the management of working hours, often communicated overnight. The empirical part involved the analysis of secondary data available in the databases of Job Centers, for the study of the employment flexibility contracts, and the conduct of narrative interviews to investigate the impacts of flexibility of work performance on the well-being of workers. The dimensions investigated were identified by analyzing human needs theories, poverty studies, and institutional systems for detecting well-being, such as BES project by Istat and Cnel. The survey confirmed the greater flexibility in the private transport sector and highlighted how the loss of power over time management inhibits the ability to satisfy basic human needs, such as the need for relationality and social participation, configuring itself as a new form of immaterial poverty awaiting recognition. The analysis of personal experiences, moreover, underlined the role of the expressive orientation to work in tolerating more flexible situations and revealed a "systemic social irresponsibility" which contributes to creating and reproducing inequalities regarding the quality of work and the quality of people's lives.