The Innovative Implications of Smart Working in a Post-pandemic Era: A Model of Smart Working Satisfaction in Public Sector Organizations

• Published date: 01 September 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00953997241261614
• Author: Isabella Bonacci,Danila Scarozza,Emilio Greco
• Date: 01 September 2024

https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997241261614

Administration & Society

2024, Vol. 56(8) 911 –940

© The Author(s) 2024

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DOI: 10.1177/00953997241261614

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Article

The Innovative

Implications of Smart

Working in a Post-

pandemic Era: A Model

of Smart Working

Satisfaction in Public

Sector Organizations

Isabella Bonacci1, Danila Scarozza2,

and Emilio Greco2

Abstract

New technological imperatives have changed the configuration of work,

shifting it toward flexible and high-performance logics. Added to this was the

global health emergency that paralyzed most work activities, with dramatic

impacts on employment. During and after the emergency, organizations have

realized that digital transformation has the potential to increase productivity,

and Smart Working (SW) is part of this transformation process. The variable

this analysis focuses on is Smart Working Satisfaction (SWS) in Italian public

organizations, with the aim of identifying trends and solutions to improve

human well-being and labor productivity. Accordingly, the research aims

to answer the following questions: (a) What factors influence SWS? (b)

What effects on satisfaction does a flexible form of work generate? (c) How

does SWS manifest itself? A survey of 1,252 civil servants tapped the level

of satisfaction of agile workers. The study aims to shift the focus of the

scientific literature on SWS toward a new organizational approach to work.

1Universitas Mercatorum, Rome, Italy

2Link Campus University, Rome, Italy

Corresponding Author:

Isabella Bonacci, Faculty of Economics and Law, Universitas Mercatorum, Piazza Mattei, Rome

00186, Italy .

Email: isabella.bonacci@unimercatorum.it

1261614AAS0010.1177/00953997241261614Administration & SocietyBonacci et al.

research-article2024

912 Administration & Society 56(8)

This research seeks not only to fill a theoretical gap related to SWS but also

to demonstrate how the diffusion of new flexible working logics enhances

workers’ sense of affiliation.

Keywords

agile work, smart working satisfaction, public organizations, social change,

Covid-19 emergency

Introduction

Simply stated, organizations must commit to enhancing their Smart Working

(SW) solutions: this new way of working necessitates a shift in procedures,

technologies, and people’s mindsets. The most difficult aspect of digital

transformation is cultural change. Using SW entails molding people and sys-

tems. SW should not be confused with home working, which entails repro-

ducing at home the same processes that occur in the office. According to

recent figures, the number of people working from home has increased in all

European countries, including Italy. This shift has raised a number of chal-

lenges that must be addressed in order to identify strategies that can help

assure a balance of human health, safety, satisfaction, and performance

(Angelici & Profeta, 2024; Salamone et al., 2021).

Building on these premises, our argument aligns with existing scholar-

ship on the consequences of SW, which identifies several mechanisms

through which SW affects individual outcomes, focusing on job satisfac-

tion. Job satisfaction, in fact, is one of the most commonly reported out-

comes of SW, but several doubts remain about the benefits and drawbacks

of adopting SW compared with working in a collocated environment

(Fedorova et al., 2020). Several studies have researched the effects of SW

on people in terms of job satisfaction, performance, and well-being in

recent decades (Salamone et al., 2021). The findings are not consistent.

According to certain studies (Charalampous et al., 2019; Suh & Lee, 2017),

home-based workers experience discomfort as a result of social and profes-

sional isolation, communication challenges, and changes in social interac-

tions. Other research, however (Cimini et al., 2024; Felstead & Henseke,

2017; Vega et al., 2014; Zhang, 2016), has found a positive association

between workers’ degree of satisfaction and home-based work. In addition,

prior research has concentrated on the situation in which working from

home is an organized solution in which workers are aware of and prepared

for this type of condition. In contrast, the pandemic forced millions of

workers into this new situation with no specific training or opportunity to

adapt (Chesbrough, 2020; Cimini et al., 2024).