Despite the growing relevance of service activities within manufacturing companies, studies on white collars employed in contemporary factories are limited. The present article discusses the results of a mixed-methods study involving financial and commercial clerks, production technicians and research and development technicians employed within a selected number of Italian plants. The article describes the characteristics of participants’ job in terms of autonomy, intensity and complexity, as well as the relationship between employees, work, companies and trade unions, focussing on topics that are crucial for the recent discussion around the spread of remote work.