ICT AND WORK As we have said, ICT affects work as well. Benefits of ICT in the workplace Advanced technology throughout the world has totally changed the production and distribution of goods: machines and the use of robotics have helped manufacturing companies to produce high quality products at a lower cost and in huge quantities, and the latest software packages have made day-to-day work in all sectors much more efficient and less time-consuming. The media and entertainment sector has also changed: a lot of radio and television companies have moved to digital exploiting new satellite and cable infrastructures. Similarly, new software programs to manage human resources can now help people all over the world to collaborate and build new international partnerships in a faster way. All in all, in such an increasingly competitive global marketplace, investing in ICT is crucial to: broadcasting improving processes, reducing environmental impact, making business partnerships more efficient, and creating smarter products which can be quickly adapted to changing demand. Smart working The nature of work itself has also changed thanks to ICT. With , it is possible to work from a remote workstation using ICT tools, reducing stress and anxiety and improving motivation and efficiency because working time and place become irrelevant and work is much more 'flexible'. However, working in isolation without social interaction can make people forget they are part of a team. More and more business companies adopted smart working during the Covid-19 pandemic because social distancing was necessary to slow down the spread of the virus. Companies chose specific software and applications which allowed workers to work simultaneously from anywhere and communicate faster and more easily in a virtual and limitless workplace with objectives-oriented working timetables. Global collaborations became easier to start and maintain, and customers, managers, employees and every component of the working machine were more connected to one another thanks to dynamic software packages. smart working 1 1 DO Are smart working, teleworking and remote working* the same thing? 1 MORE During the Covid-19 pandemic, 90% of large enterprises in Italy introduced or extended smart working. The percentage for medium-sized ones was 73%, while for small businesses it was 37.2%. 1