The challenge of hyperconnectivity is real: according to a comparison with international samples, 18% of project participants experience digital stress. But the most significant finding is another: over 38% believe technology can help them perform their jobs better.
It is from this balance between risk and opportunity that Bussola – Integrated Paths for Digital Wellbeing – was born, a project promoted by Confcommercio Sardegna in collaboration with Inail Sardegna, the final results of which were presented yesterday in Cagliari.
In a context marked by cognitive overload, constant multitasking, and increasingly blurred boundaries between work and personal life, Bussola has transformed the topic of technostress into a structured prevention and growth program, engaging the entire regional manufacturing sector. Through 52 hours of training and an innovative Digital Detox experience, participants acquired tools to manage technostress, improve their digital well-being, and use technology to optimize their productivity.
The project numbers:
• 11,147 companies contacted via digital channels and thematic meetings
• 4,124 companies that have expressed direct interest in well-being issues
• 156 active participants distributed across 50 participating companies
• 48 participants involved in specific training courses
• 52 total hours of training, including in-nature Digital Detox sessions
An initiative that combined specialized training and methodological innovation, also introducing artificial intelligence-based tools to optimize workflows and reduce dysfunctional multitasking.
"The data confirms the urgent need to address the psychosocial risks that have emerged with widespread digitalization," says Alfredo Nicifero, regional director of Inail Sardinia, which co-financed the Confcommercio Sardinia project. "With Bussola, we have demonstrated that investing in mental health and the prevention of stress from hyperconnectivity is not only an ethical duty, but a concrete way to ensure workplace safety. New technologies," Nicifero concludes, "must be a tool at the service of people and not vice versa, promoting their conscious and sustainable use, seeking to prevent the health risks they may pose, and supporting workers' well-being."
The field experience, which alternated between the classroom and guided disconnection, was fundamental.
"During the Digital Detox experiences in nature, we helped workers slow down, carve out spaces to disconnect in their daily lives, and reconsider their relationship with digital. In the classroom, however, we worked on the strategic use of technology as an ally, introducing platforms and new tools—including artificial intelligence— to optimize workflows and reduce multitasking. It's not about demonizing digital, but about learning to use it consciously to achieve greater well-being, more time, and greater productivity," said Gavino Puggioni, Digital Well-being Coach and Technical Director at Logout Livenow, who led the project in the field.
The scientific analysis of the collected data, conducted by Luca Pancani of the Department of Psychology at the University of Milan-Bicocca, highlights how some participants exhibit vulnerabilities related to the intrusiveness of technology in their private lives, but also important strengths on which to build paths to improve their digital and psychophysical well-being.
The 18% of workers experiencing digital stress, combined with the 38% who see technology as an opportunity, demonstrates that the challenge is not “less digital,” but more digital awareness.
"The event concluded with firsthand accounts from local entrepreneurs, tangible proof of how the Bussola model represents a replicable best practice for the future of corporate welfare. These results," concluded Marco Mainas, vice president of Confcommercio Sardegna, "demonstrate the ability of trade associations to evolve, supporting businesses through innovative and experimental approaches that respond to real market challenges."
(Unioneonline)
