Le Italian companies active in corporate welfare have doubled in the last five years, passing by 25,5 to 52,3%. And the trend has not stopped with the pandemic: indeed, it has accelerated. This is what emerges from Report 2020 – Welfare Index PMI, presented on Tuesday in Rome by Generali Italia and created with the collaboration of Confindustria, Confagricoltura, Confartigianato, Confprofessioni and Confcommercio.
This year "79% of companies have confirmed the welfare initiatives in progress and 28% have introduced new ones or strengthened existing ones", explains Lucia Sciacca, director of communication at Generali Italia and member of the Welfare Index Pmi Committee.
From 2017 to today, the activity rate of companies in the branch of complementary healthcare went from 35 to 42,2%, while the companies that propose initiatives aimed at promoting the work-life balance they increased from 33 to 51%. The fastest growing area, however, is that of theelders assistance: 7 to 23%.
The report also talks about the link between corporate services and economic results. An analysis carried out by the Welfare Index PMI and Cerved on over three thousand companies shows that the companies most active in welfare have seen productivity increase by 6% in the last two years, against the +2,1% recorded by the SME average. The employment growth rate is also higher: +11,5% against +7,5%.
"In this new context of Covid-19, through the Welfare Index PMI, we have observed how companies have acted as a social subject, as well as an economic and market one, due to their diffusion in the territory and their proximity to workers and families, giving life to a new welfare of subsidiarity – he comments Marco Sesana, CEO of Generali Italia – Companies with a more mature welfare system have been a point of reference for the communities and have had a greater capacity to react during the Covid emergency. The largest number of initiatives undertaken concern the country's priorities: health, safety, assistance, training, work-life balance. This confirms today that welfare, in addition to being strategic for the growth of businesses, will be a lever for the sustainable recovery of the country".
