Is there a European ‘Great Resignation’? The case of technicians in the entertainment sector in Italy

The article examines the debates on the ‘Great Resignation’ during the Covid- 19 crisis in Europe focusing on the case study of technicians in the entertainment sector in Italy. In this passion-driven sector, workers are particularly exposed to processes of precarisation. Drawing on a web survey carried out by the Centro Studi Doc Foundation in November 2021 and interviews with key informants, the impact of the pandemic on labour trajectories and the reasons for leaving or changing jobs are analysed. Findings indicate that unsustainable working conditions and job and economic insecurity were the primary drivers of exit. The pandemic crisis prompted this category of workers to seek employment in other industries, showing the low quality of employment in the entertainment sector and encouraging a process of confrontation that revealed the low quality of working conditions in the entertainment sector. However, post-pandemic employment recovery did not yield significant improvements in working conditions in the sector in the short term.