Lewin's model
The changes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic were, as widely emphasised, many and radical. Trying to analyse its scope is not an easy task; reason why it can be useful to exploit Kurt Lewin's Change Management Model, better known as Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze. Based on the idea that to obtain the transformation of an ice block it is first necessary to dissolve it (Unfreeze), then pour it into a new "mould" (Change) and finally refreeze it into the new form (Refreeze), the model devised by Lewin argues that to modify an existing organisation it is first necessary to identify its status quo and identify the elements that will have to undergo modification, then try to break down everything that hinders the achievement of the set goal and, once the change has been implemented, make a further effort aimed at refreezing what has been obtained so that "novelty" it becomes "norm". With a consequent return to the initial stasy situation.
If we think about the transformations in the professional field recorded over the last few years, it is possible to observe how, even before March 2020, the socio-demographic conditions and the state of automation in general had convinced some companies to start a process of thawing their "structures", directing themselves towards greater work flexibility both from a spatial and temporal point of view, that is, starting to experiment with the now known solutions remotely or, why not, encouraging the first attempts to compress working hours.
March 2020
It is inevitable to consider this date as a turning point of absolute relevance, since any type of analysis relating to the changes that have occurred for three years now obviously cannot ignore the upheaval on a global scale triggered by the beginning of the infectious crisis.
The pandemic has changed everything, suddenly distorting the "rules of the game". In the face, in fact, of the aforementioned
initiatives undertaken by some companies before the outbreak of the emergency, the forced lockdown has started a process of collective thawing of unimaginable dimensions. Hundreds of millions of professionals around the world have begun to work remotely, forcing the companies in which they were employed to a rapid process of internal renewal, necessary to keep their operations intact while at the same time managing to preserve the safety of their employees. An urgency that, as we well know, has made possible the dissemination of terms and concepts such as that of smart working and coworking and has in fact helped to set up a phase of "Change" that, although not always and everywhere in a uniform way, is progressing more and more towards a reasoned and conscious global flexibility.
NotOnlyDesk and Refreeze
So what will be the next step? According to Lewin's theory, the countless transformations we are witnessing will have to, in the more or less near future, experience a phase of refreezing. It is also quite clear that, to date, a condition of stability is still far from being realised, since, also in terms of labour, our country (and the world in general) are currently undergoing experimentation and research.
What is certain instead is that
NotOnlyDesk wants to become one of the nerve centres of this process, accompanying and contributing to the "Change" phase to establish itself as the founding basis of the subsequent "Refreeze". NotOnlyDesk, whose mission - as mentioned several times - is to create the largest existing networking, is a young and enterprising reality that represents one of the most crystalline examples of ongoing experimentation. Coworking and smart working, already identified as necessary elements for the transition to a more "flexible" future, are in fact cornerstones of the NOD project. A unique project of its kind that responds to the needs of the present, but constantly looks to the future.
