On 15th July 2016, in our company a Recreational Room was inaugurated. The term “recreation” etymologically indicates a time which is not dedicated to work: “recreation” is the moment of entertainment saved from usual occupations with the purpose to relax. For this reason, in the context of our company, the concept of “leisure” indicates a time of “rebellion” at work and, with this very spirit of subversion of the rule, in the company it is possible to create autonomous spaces which do not have to deal properly with business, but – in some way – influence it positively.
With the aim of improving the quality of work in our company, or we would say of “life” in our company, a recreational area was born inside the plant: being faithful to our subversive spirit, we called this area “Recreational Room”. The most careful reader experienced in the subject could argue it is not a big fact, but actually in the most virtuous companies recreation rooms, even if they are not exactly a habit, represent a good opportunity to “corporate social responsibility”.
Our project is innovative because people are the absolute centrality: they have made themselves voluntarily helpful and actively contributed to the construction of this area to the point they were involved in the design of the room. The entire location, starting from the structure which has been composed by using pallets already present in the plant, was realized by using recycled materials: the decorative wall panels originated from the work of children of the summer recreational centres of the territory of Faenza and the blow-ups belonged to settings of past fairs, as well as the television area armchairs. A point of support of the room was built entirely by the workers through the use of historical and significant production parts of the company. The Recreational Room will be a constant meeting place during the breaks of workers who will compete in table football, table tennis or darts, or even enjoy sitting comfortably a TV movie.
However, the “Open Factory” initiative was not just the opportunity to share movie visions in the Recreational Room, but also to share an experience and especially to set an example for other companies and for the community that nothing is impossible for an enterprise. Marco Cortesi and Mara Moschini were the protagonists of the play The Choice: stories of heroism, courage and humanity represented through the testimonies of persons who were able, with their own strength and in contexts of conflict, to transform negative moments in exemplar and positive stories of humanity. It was a truly exceptional moment and indicates the first performance of a play of social commitment in an industrial context.
Why is it important to propose to persons involved in the initiative the Civil Theatre of Marco Cortesi? Because the company should not be only the place of work, but also of building and growth: the place where people can make training experiences not directly connected with the activity of the company. Formation in the sense of operating and adding something to existence, contributing in this way to personal improvement.
Consequently, an organization can thus become the place of developmental meeting. Contributing to lives of people in the world of work is not only possible with material compensation, but also with other extraordinary possibilities. It is always precarious balance between the ordinary and the extraordinary, in work as in life.
If we think of it, it does not take much to make extraordinary an ordinary thing: most of times, it is just a matter of choice, exactly as it happened in the stories interpreted by the actors of the performance. A constellation of very little choices that have made extraordinary even the most natural and basic right of a human being: living. With small gestures, with little choices, we can help to make extraordinary everybody’s life, but we can also make extraordinary the professional experience of persons. If we think of it, it does not take much but to be ordinary rebels…