The Nearworking Project

A wide-ranging remote working plan was implemented by Milan City Hall in 2021 through the Smart-working Organisation Plan (Piano Organizzativo Lavoro Agile, POLA). It met with considerable success and helped to decongest traffic and make working spaces less crowded. However, not all City Hall employees find the best working conditions at home, as they often lack the necessary space and circumstances to make the most of this opportunity.

In September 2021 Milan City Hall arranged to make eight of its workplaces available to nearworkers not normally employed there. Reservable workstations were set up for those
interested. At the same time, other suitable locations were sought in cooperation with public utility firms and private companies (through the Smart Working Community project, thanks to the collaboration with the Milano Smart City Alliance program) and in co-working spaces around the city, in order to provide more options for commuters from the wider metropolitan area.

The project continues as more options are considered and studies focused on public employees’ inter-city mobility aim to pinpoint the best locations near transport hubs. The possibility of equating remote work in City Hall workplaces (which qualifies as “regular” work) and remote work in private or other spaces (which qualifies as “home” work) is also being examined. The interaction with employees of public utilities and private companies is considered a bonus as public/private interaction unfortunately remains uncommon in Italy.

Milan