Culture, respect, safety

by Mauro Rizzolo, ASSIOT President 

The advent of a new year usually prompts people to reflect on their desires and goals in life, both work-related and personal. In this case, however, my reflections were deeper than usual. The pandemic had and is still having a huge impact on our lives and, unfortunately, I can see attitudes and behaviours, both at work and in private, that are not appropriate for peaceful coexistence. It is therefore time to start afresh and focus on three key aspects: Culture, Respect and Safety. Culture, first and foremost: it is absolutely necessary to get back to it, by investing time and money. Only in this way can we improve our view of things and inspire the good, the true and the beautiful in the lives of the people we meet. Respect means observing the rules, paying attention to what and who is around us. It is not a question of form, but of substance. It is about recognising the value of our counterpart and the legitimacy of his position and interests. However, respect can also be seen as the interpersonal equality that underlies both equal rights and opportunities as well as a fairer distribution of resources. Thus, by putting respect into practice, we create the ideal conditions for a civil, proactive interaction and thus move forward in the growth of our species. And finally, safety. Leaving aside the personal and national aspects, safety is playing an increasingly important role in the world of work and has unfortunately come back into the limelight in recent times. The task of ensuring safety at work is the responsibility of both the employer and each individual within an organization. Behaviour not in line with the law, although limited to few cases, leads people to believe that there is still much to be done, while there are many companies that are seriously committed to this issue. Cyber security is also a crucial current issue. It is essential to define cyber security guidelines and specific training is needed at all levels of the company. Last but not least, I would like to mention energy safety, meaning the availability of reliable energy supplies at reasonable prices… an issue that is difficult for companies to deal with, and one that requires the necessary and immediate involvement of our government. FEDERTEC can play a key role in supporting companies on all the above aspects. This is why I wish all member companies a future full of culture, respect and safety.