Lavoratori “ad obsolescenza programmata”: immagini stereotipiche versus ri-valorizzazione dell’esperienza

The so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution influences and interacts in a reciprocal relationship with the social sphere, posing the question of how to ensure that it does not irrevocably benefit a part of society, but as many individuals as possible. Since the current technological change takes place in a context in which the labor market is aging rapidly, it becomes imperative to understand whether the “innovation skills” belong exclusively to young workers, while a lack of them endemically afflicts mature workers. The reflections proposed move from the intention of correlating some ideas of a purely socio-economic nature to a broader analytical view, including, thanks to different interpretative references, the problem of mature workers in Industry 4.0 in prejudicial perceptions and culturally rooted stereotypic visions, noting in conclusion how is urgent a change of narrative.