The Italian Post-World War II Experience in Human Relations and Corporate Welfare

Abstract

The relevance of interventions in welfare and social security systems in the twentieth century has become the subject of extensive historical research. In particular from a prevalent focus on State intervention to a more in-depth historiographic reconsideration of the work performed by private institutions, including an important role played by industry. The focus of this paper is precisely the Corporate Welfare in the context of action after IIWW, by addressing the transformation in practices in terms of welfare and social security for workers, the essence of which is capable of revealing the participatory and communal nature of companies. In specific, I concentrate my attention on the relevance of the Human Relations in Italy and their effects on the Corporate Welfare. The paper examines some cases of HR as OM, Pirelli, Falck and Uniliver. Finally there is a specific attention on the job training of the “leader” and the “social worker of the factory”.

Keywords: Human relations, welfare capitalism, firm

JEL Classification: N340, N940, L310, L330