Things well-done are done together
Labour is a company asset
At Olivari, labour is a company asset that implies maintaining elevated fabrication standards. It also signifies recognition of the merits and capabilities of each person.
On Friday afternoons at Olivari, the last hour of the shift is always dedicated to cleaning and reorganising each person’s workstation. There have been no instructions from higher up to do so; no service order was emitted for a scheduled cleaning duty. It is a habit that grew over the years, a way to begin the new week in neat, clean conditions. Above all, it is the sign of a shared sentiment of belonging, a gesture of consideration and care that eloquently describes how the company is everybody’s second home.
Of course Olivari has never stopped renewing and improving the workspace. It has invested in safe, high-quality surroundings besides simpler things such as regular coats of paint to keep all departments bright and spotless. When it was decided to offer employees a blue T-shirt in addition to the mandatory safety shoes, it became natural for everyone to wear it during work hours. The choice shows pride, team spirit and a form of casual elegance, as if the everyday crafting of beautiful objects had become part of the workers’ spirit. They are aware of being both makers and members of this beauty.
Beauty and elegance issue daily from the skilled hands of those who meticulously apply invisible layers of glue, those who deftly wrap each new product in its final packaging from which it will emerge fresh, unblemished and fragrant.
These objects often carry the name of an important person, a famous architect or successful designer, but they are born from the concerted attention lavished on them by many, day after day. It begins with experienced product and production managers who collaborate from the very first studies to solve problems and invent the best answers.
Sometimes, their ideas are patented, consolidating authentic industrial values. Behind their grace, these seemingly simple objects conceal the rigour of the most absolute precision, a type of precision that even the most modern machinery cannot guarantee. Only a trained and watchful eye can ensure it by regulating, modifying and complying with the transformations of the materials and the wear of the equipment. Such experience is renewed from generation to generation: not infrequently, workers’ sons take the place of their fathers.
So here we have it: at Olivari, labour is a true company asset that is not given in exchange for benign paternalism, but founded on solid reciprocal respect, based on the high standard of work that is required, and on the recognition of the merits and capacities of each person.
This is something to think about next time you take by the hand an Olivari door handle.
