Summer, Manageritalia: 'Between wars and tariffs, managers are less carefree and more likely to disconnect.'

For Italian managers, the summer has never been so full of meaning, emotion, and connection. This is according to a survey conducted by AstraRicerche for Manageritalia, the federation representing over 45,000 managers and senior professionals in the service sector in Italy. The analysis of over 1,000 Italian managers, combining data and trends, depicts a summer of 2025 marked by vacations, yes, but with smartphones turned on, and a growing awareness of their role as leaders of their workgroups, even under the umbrella.

The survey shows that the manager of 2025 is a professional who never completely shuts down, but who is beginning to reevaluate the value of personal time, while remaining connected. This balance is still fragile, but evolving. Manageritalia has always been active in monitoring and supporting this transformation, ensuring that personal well-being and professional performance can coexist.

"The data confirms what we experience every day: the modern manager can no longer ignore the importance of a balance between personal and professional life. Being constantly available is no longer a source of pride, but a challenge to be managed with awareness. Vacations thus become a laboratory for balance, where the real exercise is not switching off, but knowing when and how to stay connected," comments Marco Ballarè, president of Manageritalia.

94.8% of managers said they had taken or were planning a vacation between June and September 2025. This figure is slightly down from 2019 (95.6%) but still very high. However, only 12.7% said they were completely disconnected during their vacations, a sharp increase from 7.9% in 2019 and 4.9% in 2014. This is a sign of a slow but significant cultural shift. Yet, 73.7% remain reachable by colleagues, and 69.5% continue to check work emails. In 2019, these figures were 82.0% and 74.5%, respectively: a decline that reflects a new focus on work-life balance, despite a persistent culture of availability.

A comparison between 2019 and 2025 shows a marked worsening of managers' expectations and mood upon returning from vacation (perhaps due to the uncertainties of the changed economic and political context, marked by war and instability). Optimism has dropped sharply (-12.9%), while the desire to perform has fallen (-9.4%) (now at 40.3%, compared to 49.6% in 2019). It's no coincidence that sadness over the end of vacation has doubled, from 11.8% to 22.9%. Curiosity and the desire to see what the return to work will be like in September are growing (+8.5%).

For nearly all Italian managers, summer is a time to spend with family (97.5%), rest one's mind (92.8%), read books unrelated to work (81.5%), or simply do things they can't do outside of work during the year (79.9%). Two activities are experiencing strong growth: resting the body (79.8%, an 11.1% increase over 2019) and spending time with friends (78.1%, an 19.2% increase): a vacation with loved ones, increasingly focused on well-being.

Professional-related reflections are also not lacking: 47% use their holidays to rethink their careers, 41.7% take advantage of it to focus on high-level strategic work considerations, and just over one in four managers (26.4%) uses their holidays to do things they can't do during the year at work. Finally, only 14% plan to use this summer break to update or train professionally.

Italy remains the preferred destination: 73.2% of managers choose to stay in the Bel Paese, a figure stable compared to 2019. But the desire for Europe is growing: 37.6% have chosen European destinations (excluding Italy), an increase of 5 percentage points compared to 2019.

Asia also saw strong growth, rising from 3.7% to 8.1%, a sign of renewed interest in far-flung and culturally diverse destinations. Vacations to North America, however, declined (from 6.4% to 3.9%), and Oceania remained minimal (0.3%).